A Future Gained
by SilentlySlaying
Summary: Sequel to "At The Crossroads of Faith". Quentin Travers signs a deal with the devil, putting Buffy, Faith and the scoobies squarely in the sights of Wolfram and Hart. Episodic.
1. Second Date: Part 1

**June 12th 1998**

The girl didn't dare look back, but she could still see them. Flashes in front of her eyes. Images of screwed up faces and glowing, beast-like eyes pushing their way into her head. They weren't human and nor did they belong to any animal she'd ever seen. They were something else entirely.

She was sprinting, pushing herself to her limits as she tried to leave them behind. It didn't seem to matter. The faster she ran, the faster they ran. Only she wasn't at her best, and they were always moving that little bit quicker, closing in on her with each passing second. Long blades of thick grass licked at her ankles as she powered through the field, each of them working together to slow her escape. The land seemed to have stretched on forever, yard after yard of nothing but grass. No buildings or roads. No sign of help or safety. Nowhere to hide.

She winced as she curled a hand tenderly around her side, a failed attempt to keep the blood from continuing to spread outward.

There was a forest in the distance, its silhouette visible against the barely lit night sky. If she could reach it, she could lose them between the trunks, blending into the darkness that filled between the trees. It just seemed so far away and her legs were starting to struggle. They threatened to give up each time her feet came down on the firm, soil ground.

One foot caught in a twisted patch of grass, and it sent her stumbling forward, her legs helplessly kicking out behind her. That should have been the end, but she stayed on her feet, regained her balance, and quickly ramped back up to full speed.

Everything had gone downhill so fast, but there wasn't time to think about it. They were closing in. She could hear the thud of dozens of feet hitting the ground, and the steady rising of their combined low murmur buzzed about her ears. They sounded angry. Hungry. The scent of their wounded prey had driven them into a frenzy.

The backs of her feet pressed against her trainers, rubbing away the skin until blood began to squeeze out and soak into her socks. She'd been running for so long, but she couldn't stop. Not when the forest was so close. She could make out the individual leaves. The branches. To most it would have looked eerie and haunting. But not to her. She could see the path she was going to take, the way she would weave through the maze of trees, and it was going to save her life.

Her calf seized up and a blinding pain shot through her leg as if the muscle had been torn in two. A shocked cry left her throat as she fell forward, her legs lost in the air. Her knees scraped across the rough ground as she landed hard. Her hands shot straight to the source, and she grasped and squeezed at her leg as she tried to massage away some of the steady, searing pain.

The moon stared silently from above, giving form to the shadows that crept around her. First one, then another, and then a third. She stared wide-eyed at the ground as they surrounded her. Her leg wouldn't respond. She couldn't get back to her feet or even crawl away. Too afraid to look up, she watched helplessly until there was nothing left in front of her but a giant slab of blackness.

Resigned to her fate, she waited.

Nothing happened.

Another few seconds passed. Still nothing.

She slowly tilted her head upward.

And then they were on her.

* * *

Faith Lehane's eyes shot open.

She counted that as the third time that week and the second night straight. The first remained the worst. It had been a different girl in trouble and it had taken place inside a bleak, endless cave – a giant tangle of tunnels that hid any chance of escape. It had been dark and dank, and Faith had smelt the dampness even after she'd awoken. It had been the middle of the night, pitch black and eerily silent, and it had felt like she was still there. Still trapped, surrounded by those weird creatures with nowhere to go.

But this time she knew exactly where she was. At home, safe in her bed. Back in South Boston where there was barely a forest or field or cave for miles.

Nobody had let her body know it wasn't real; her heart was still rapidly drumming away and sweat had spilled from her pores, soaking the bedding. Disgusted by the feeling, she threw back her duvet and irritably kicked it away to the floor. Rolling on to her side, she sought out the dryness at the edge of the bed. Not so much as a crack of light came through the thin, ragged curtains that hung over her bedroom window.

She lay there, coiled up at the edge of her bed, occasionally shivering against the cool night air as she tried to go back to sleep. First Monday night, then Wednesday, and now Thursday. She didn't know why she was having the nightmares or why random girls she didn't recognise had taken up the starring roles, but she couldn't shake them from her thoughts, day or night. Maybe she'd watched one too many late night horror flicks. The things chasing them though, they weren't the images of the masked madmen that chopped their way through teens in the movies.

And these were different to her usual dreams. For one thing, she could remember them in near-flawless levels of detail. Even the first one stayed fresh in her mind like she'd been living it for weeks on end. They had also felt so real. The sound was so crisp and she could feel everything that happened. Every ache and pain. Every thought and worry that swirled around each victim's head. They fused with her own until she could no longer tell whose were whose. She had felt their energy fading away as they'd desperately fought for their lives. It wasn't like she was watching them – it was like, somehow, she was them.

Each dream had left her starting the new day already drained, and it was starting to catch up with her. Thank God there was only one more day of school to get through until the weekend, she thought. Then she could crash for 48 hours, and she'd be damned if anything was going to get her out of bed in time to see either morning.

* * *

**Present Day**

Coloured lights hung everywhere. Hundreds if not thousands of them covered the acres of ground that lay somewhere between Sunnydale and Bakersfield. Red, green, yellow and blue, alternating their way around the rims of tents, up the sides of poles, and down over the roofs of stalls. Beeps and bells shouted out above the frenzied buzz of the crowds that milled from one attraction to the next like they were stuck on a giant, twisting conveyor belt. A group of young children screamed out in unison as a small roller-coaster carriage stopped teetering at the top of a hill and began its hurried descent. A place that spent most of the year as little more than a giant field with a lake attached on one end had become, for one week only, the annual Los Padres Winter Carnival.

Somewhere amongst the madness, Buffy Summers stood staring straight ahead through widened eyes, her lips pursed in desire. "Oooh, fluffy animals!" She eyed the rows of colourful toys, ranging from tiny to huge and from creatures reminiscent of real animals to things that she might have taken for demons had they not been so unrelentingly cute. Her gaze parked on the top row – which happened to be where the largest prizes hung – and she pointed at a blue, fuzzy, one-eyed creature with giant, bushy ears and a spiked club in one hand. "That one please."

Faith returned Buffy's bright, eager look with one of amusement before glancing at the basketball net hung fifteen feet in the air at the back of the stall. "Pretty sure you can manage it yourself, B."

"But this is a date, ergo you have to win it for me," Buffy countered. "That's how these things work."

"Then who says you shouldn't be winning it for me?"

"Oh please. I've been in your room, and the girliest thing that's ever set foot in there is, well, me. What would you even do with it?"

Faith didn't need long to think up a response. "Well I could do with something to keep me warm through these harsh Winter nights. Unless you're offering up an alternative?"

The weather that evening couldn't be described as harsh or particularly Wintery, clocking in somewhere around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, though Buffy was dressed more like it had hit ninety. There were months to go before the sunbathing temperatures kicked in, but an hour spent rooting through her wardrobe for an outfit more suited to the tail end of Winter had left her frustrated.

This marked only her second date with Faith, and it was also a much bigger deal than the first. Coffee had been nice – though in Buffy's case the caffeine had actually come in the form of a hot chocolate with enough marshmallow to hide the liquid entirely – but it had ultimately seemed like little more than a casual drink with a close friend. Tonight was more like the real deal, and with Faith happy to drive them over two hours to their destination, Buffy had wanted to look her best. Eventually she'd settled on a light, Summery outfit that had seen the outside world on only three occasions – and each of those had been back in Los Angeles.

A pair of thin straps were the only things covering Buffy's arms, and her lower legs were equally bare, making it a wholly questionable choice in terms of seasons. But Faith's wandering eyes had lit up on first sight, and that was exactly the sort of reaction Buffy had been gunning for.

The temperate air didn't keep her cheeks from warming at Faith's playful remark. She cleared her throat and shyly tilted her head down in hopes of keeping her blushing to herself.

"Come on." Grinning, Faith took Buffy's hand and pulled her toward the stall. "Watch a pro at work."

A middle-aged man greeted them with a wide, cheesy smile. His ridiculously tall red, blue and white striped hat and glittery blue jacket suggested he'd taken a wrong turn on the way to the circus tent; all he was missing was a whip and lion. "Evening, ladies. Five bucks gets you three shots. The more you net, the bigger the prize. They're there for the taking, assuming that you don't both throw like a girl."

Faith was in high spirits and she didn't take the bait, seemingly willing to play along. "I'll take whatever that big, blue thing is," she said, tipping her head up toward the top row. "You wanna skip the formalities and just hand it over now?"

The man placed a hand on his heart as his mouth formed a large O-shape, and he held the exaggerated pose for several seconds. "Looks like we've got a girl with confidence." He leaned forward onto the counter and quietly added, "Though in my experience they always do the worst."

With a cocky smirk, Faith threw down a single five dollar bill before holding out her hand expectantly.

Smiling knowingly, Buffy leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You might want to at least pretend it takes some effort."

Faith turned to face her, widened her grin and, without looking at the net, nonchalantly tossed the ball out to her side with one hand. She turned back just in time to watch it hit the rim of the hoop and bounce away, and the mischievous twinkle in her eyes immediately vanished.

Buffy couldn't stop herself from chuckling in amusement. "Real smooth there, Faith. You'll have to teach me that one some day."

"Reasonable... if you've never held a ball before," the man said. "It's too late for the top row, but the medium prizes are still up for grabs. Unless you want to bow out early and save the rest of your dignity?"

Faith's eyes narrowed slightly. "Nah, I've got the hang of it now."

She paid more attention for the second attempt, facing straight forward, taking a couple of beats to aim, and using both hands to place the shot. Once again the ball bounced harmlessly to the side. That time Buffy stayed silent, her only response a questioning eyebrow. Her first instinct was that Faith was simply messing with her, but Faith looked even more surprised than she did.

"Son of a..." Faith muttered, the disbelief evident in her trailing voice.

"I'm sure you're just having an off day," the man said as he held out another ball. "Still, not everyone can be a natural, and there's always what we call the consolation prize. After all, almost everyone manages at least one."

Faith snatched at it and turned it in her hands. She gave it a few small tosses and then bounced it off the floor several times for good measure. Seemingly satisfied, she took a deep breath and then threw the ball up one last time. Again it failed to find its target. "Oh come on!" Faith grumbled. "What the hell are-"

"Hey," Buffy interrupted softly, laying her hand on the top of Faith's arm and giving it a reassuring squeeze. "It's OK. I mean I already have enough junk lying around anyway. At least that's what my mom's always telling me."

Faith had been glaring at the man, but her features quickly softened when she turned to Buffy. She gave a short shake of her head. "Yeah, sorry. Suppose it saves having to haul the thing around."

Buffy nodded in agreement, but before they could leave, the man turned his attention her way. She was sure his welcoming smile seemed darker somehow, and the humour in his voice had definitely been replaced by smugness. "What about you, miss? Think you can you do any better?"

Taking issue with his tone, Buffy kept her eyes on him as she took our her purse and pulled out a five dollar bill. He took her money and passed her the ball without batting an eye.

"Best of luck," he said evenly.

The ball felt weighty enough that it wouldn't be affected by any wind – not that there had been any of note all evening – and firm enough that it wouldn't slip from her fingers. The stall owner was still watching her, but she tried to ignore him, taking her time to line up first her body and then the shot. She may as well have closed her eyes and thrown it without thought; her effort was no more successful than Faith's attempts.

The man was already holding out another ball, balancing it on the tips of his curled up fingers. "You're lucky this isn't life or death. Two tries left."

Buffy and Faith shared a look best surmised as 'what the hell', though Buffy was getting a pretty clear picture of what was going on. She stared at the held out ball before her eyes flicked to the man. Something was up and it definitely wasn't with her. She felt fine, other than the fact that the man's silent, emotionless look was starting to give her the heebie-jeebies. It was also obvious they weren't going to win anything. "I think we're done," she said, before adding a simple, "Thanks," as an afterthought.

He gave a short, quiet laugh under his breath. "Another time then." The pair turned and began walking away, and he called out after them, "Have a good night," his tone having returned to pleasantly cheerful.

"Whoa," Faith said as soon as they were out of earshot. "I've heard these things are meant to be a con, but come on, that's gotta be magic or something."

"My thoughts exactly," Buffy agreed. There was an amusement to Faith's voice that Buffy didn't share. She glanced back over her shoulder, but the man had already moved on to his next victims. "Was it just me or did he give you a weird vibe? Kind of like he secretly wanted to kill all your pets."

Faith shrugged. "I don't have any pets. Besides, everyone gives me a weird vibe. Known enough creeps not to take anyone at face value. And the bigger their smile, the darker they usually turn out."

Buffy frowned. Granted, when it came to Faith it never took much to peek her curiosity, but with a comment like that? She was all-ears. "Oh?"

"Sure. Until you know who someone really is, better to be on guard than end up sorry you weren't, right?"

"I guess," Buffy said hesitantly, not wholeheartedly agreeing with the sentiment but not about to completely rule it out either. She'd hoped for something a little less vague and a little more insightful, but Faith had never been all that big on sharing and Buffy didn't want to pry – at least not too blatantly. "So what about me?"

"What about you?"

"When you first saw me. What did you think? I recall being way too surprised to smile at all, so does that mean I was right down the bottom of the danger list?" There was no instant reply that time, and Buffy had to provide some verbal prodding. "Faith?"

Faith's eyes flicked her way. "Mostly? I was thinking, 'huh, kinda short for a Slayer'. Figured I had the wrong place or something."

"What?" Buffy complained, pouting instantly. She eyed Faith, who was looking straight ahead and remaining suspiciously straight-faced. "You have like two inches on me. I have heels bigger than that."

"Hey, trust me, two inches put to good use can make all the difference." Faith wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Please tell me that wasn't a penis thing."

"Well will you look at that. Second date with me and she's already stopped driving stick. Good to know I've still got it," Faith said, grinning wildly.

Buffy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It'll be your last date if you don't watch it. With me or anyone else."

As they walked, her gaze wandered from side to side, never settling for too long on any one of the attractions they passed by, though she did mentally mark the location of a candy floss stall for later – what good was a festival without a colourful sugar overload?

She looked away instantly when she caught the eye of the woman running another prize stall, wanting to forget about their earlier experience and enjoy the rest of the night. She was strictly off duty and some locals being conned out of a few dollars by a questionable use of witchcraft didn't exactly scream panic stations.

"Seriously though," Faith said after a short intermission, briefly catching her eye, "when we first met my head was all over the place, you know? I'd been travelling for three days straight, doing whatever I could to get from one place to the next, wondering if anyone was following me and trying not to think about what'd happen if I didn't move fast enough." She paused and then quietened as she continued. "Just making it to Sunnydale was... and even then I didn't know what to expect. Diana didn't really know much about you, but the idea that there might be someone else out there like me – that might get me – was... I dunno, I just... I guess I hoped I'd make a good impression."

"Really? And that's the top you chose to go with?" Buffy joked, eager to get her own back. "Plus there was that dancing, and then the way-"

"Hey!" Faith interrupted, giving Buffy a friendly shove."We do things differently back in Southie, OK?"

"I'll say," Buffy agreed. "And just so you know, we don't do a whole lot of slaying in the buff over this way either. In fact, clothes are generally considered a necessity for all outdoor activities. Weird, huh?"

"Sounds dull if you ask me. You know what is weird though? How you still remember that." Faith's lips curled up mischievously. "Hope it didn't lose you too much sleep."

"The nightmares were endless," Buffy countered wryly, shooting Faith a sugar-sweet smile.

Without warning, Faith suddenly stepped around in front, and Buffy had to stumble to a quick halt before she bumped into her.

"What?" Buffy asked, eyeing Faith suspiciously.

"I'm just thinking maybe I don't want to talk about the past anymore." Faith's hands rose up, hesitating for a short moment before cupping Buffy's shoulders, which like the rest of her arms were left exposed by her halter neck top. Slowly, Faith's fingers trailed their way down, her thumbs affectionately stroking over Buffy's biceps, leaving thin, prickling trails in their path. They stopped at her wrists, by which time Buffy's heart had settled on a new rate of far-too-many beats per minute. "Fact is, maybe I'm OK with not talking at all."

Faith's fingers wrapped loosely around Buffy's wrists and gently urged her closer.

Too busy trying to kick-start her brain back into action, Buffy had no choice in her compliance. She took a small step forward, leaving their faces only inches apart. She tilted her head back to see into Faith's eyes – she'd chosen flat shoes, having envisioned there'd be a fair amount of walking involved, which was making those two inches count.

"Umm, Faith?" she said quietly as she took a nervous glance to her side. They were stood right in the middle of the walkway, and while the current area wasn't filled completely to the rafters there was still a certain amount of weaving required to travel safely between stalls. Stalls such as the ones either side of them, manned by people who might have nothing better to do than watch what was going on outside.

"Yeah?" Faith's hands were on the move again, flitting down Buffy's sides before coming to a rest on her hips.

Buffy squirmed involuntarily as tingles shot up her core from where Faith's fingers were pressing against her body. The layer of material separating the two of them was so thin it may as well have been absent, and she could feel the heat from Faith's fingertips soak through the cool silk. She started to fluster, swallowed nervously, and dropped her gaze.

With Angel, public displays of any kind had generally been kept at a strictly non-existent level, even before they'd been forced into secrecy. When they went out together there were three things that were a pretty safe bet. Firstly, it would be at night. Secondly, they'd be somewhere quiet. Most importantly, they'd be surrounded only by the dead or recently risen.

Or maybe that wasn't the most important thing; while she didn't want to admit it, Faith being a girl wasn't helping her feel any more at ease. As far as everyone who'd seen them that night was concerned, they had been two friends hanging out. Now they were dangerously close to judging territory and she could already feel people's eyes on them.

Faith must have picked up on her jitters because, while she remained standing close, her hands slipped off of Buffy's hips and back to her own sides, and she straightened up, putting some distance between them. If she was offended then she didn't let it show. "So what should we do next?"

Buffy took a careful look around, trying to be discrete about it, and managed to relax when she found that nobody seemed to be paying them any attention. "I don't mind," she mumbled sheepishly, having trouble looking Faith in the eye. Part of her felt like she should be apologizing, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"Let's keep going then. See where we end up."

Buffy nodded and followed Faith's lead. They continued without settling on a destination, jumping from one conversation topic to the next. Somewhere along the way Buffy had stopped paying much attention to the continuous bustle around them, too wrapped up in Faith's energetically-told tale of how she'd stopped an underwater demon from devouring sailors in the Boston Harbour. It took somebody stepping right in front of Buffy's path to break her concentration, and that only worked because they ploughed into one another.

"Watch it!" Faith warned, shooting an unimpressed look at a woman a few years older than her. She had short, curly hair and dazed, brown eyes and was already stumbling off again without so much as apology. "Jeez, rude much?" Faith called after her before turning to Buffy. "You alright?"

Buffy watched as the woman bumped straight into someone else before finding her way to the grass at the edge of the walkway. Two carnival workers – made obvious by their bright, gaudy clothing – were quick to arrive at her side, and one of them took her by the wrist. Buffy shot Faith a questioning look before heading over.

"Is she OK?" Buffy asked.

"She's fine," said the worker with the woman in his grip, and he gave her arm a quick tug. "Had a bit much to drink by the looks of things. We'll find her somewhere quiet to sober up."

"I don't think that's it." Buffy took a step closer. "Hey?" she said, trying to get the woman's attention but failing to trigger a response.

"B?" Buffy looked over her shoulder to find Faith watching her curiously. "What are you doing?"

Buffy furrowed her brow, staring at Faith for a few moments before turning her attention back to the trio in front of her, but by that time the woman was already being lead away. "I don't think she's drunk," she said quietly.

"I've seen at least three beer tents so far," Faith said, stepping closer. "Drunk seems a pretty safe bet. Trust me, that type? Couple of aspirin and she'll be down the pub by breakfast."

Faith reached for Buffy's hand, but Buffy flinched away. "Maybe we should check it out." She threw another quick glance after the retreating trio.

Faith's sigh was unmistakably one of irritation.

"What?" Buffy asked defensively.

There was a small pause before Faith spoke. "Nothing," she said, shaking her head and loosely crossing her arms.

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "That was a pretty epic sigh for nothing. Don't you want to make sure she's OK?"

"Is that what this is really about?"

"Is what what what is about?" Buffy asked, partly to lighten the mood and partly to try and avoid further interrogation.

Faith stared at her for a few moments before signing again, more softly that time. "Look, just forget it, OK?" She turned back the way they'd been heading, and after a short hesitation Buffy quickly fell in line beside her.

Despite playing dumb, Buffy had a hunch at what Faith was getting at. She didn't mean to come of as squeamish, and she'd been feeling fine earlier, but something had set on her on edge. She did feel genuinely guilty for brushing Faith off though, so after a few steps spent bracing herself she slipped her hand into Faith's. The girl instantly looked over, clearly surprised, and Buffy just smiled as she kept her eyes straight ahead. It was a start, she decided, and when the world didn't instantly implode she figured there'd be plenty of time to work on the rest.

They walked along, silent for the first time that night, and Buffy hoped that it wasn't an angry silence on Faith's part. The next thing she knew, they'd reached the end of their path, and ahead of them stood two rows of torches that lit up a short, curling path.

"That looks like fun," Faith said. "Want to go in?"

"The Cavern of Horrors," Buffy said, reading the words on the rusted, gothic sign hung atop the dark-green tent ahead of them. "Really? I mean look at it. It's a giant tent. It doesn't even look like a cavern yet alone a horrifying one. Maybe we could just stand out here by the torches?" The temperature had already dipped and Buffy was wondering how much she'd come to regret her clothing choice by the end of the night.

"Scared? Don't worry, B, stick close to me and I'll keep you safe."

"Sure. Scared for the well being of anyone who jumps out at us."

Faith's smile faltered for barely a second before she looked away, but Buffy caught it and realized what she'd just said. "Oh God, no, Faith, I didn't mean... I just meant that..." She shook her head at her own stupidity, wondering if it was possible to make more of a hash of things that night than she was already doing.

"Hey, don't worry, it's cool. I get you."

Buffy studied Faith, trying to determine if she really was OK. After a drawn out silence, Faith raised an eyebrow. "Is there something on my face or...?" she joked.

Buffy smiled appreciatively. "You should really know, I'm not usually this bad with the whole... dating thing. At least I hope not. I'm just... rusty, I guess. I'm rusty Buffy."

Faith tilted her head. "You gonna hit me if I start calling you that?"

"Almost certainly," Buffy replied cheerfully.

And with that they joined the short queue that lead up to the sheet-covered entrance of The Cavern of Horrors. Groups were being sent in several minutes apart, but the short queue ensured they didn't have long to wait. As they reached the front, a single, ear-piercing scream rang through the air from somewhere inside.

It sounded genuine enough to send a chill down Buffy's back, and she turned to Faith, letting her worry show on her face.

"So I take it I'm going first then?" Faith teased, smirking.

"Jerk!" Buffy swatted playfully at Faith's arm. She didn't know why she was still acting so flaky, but she silently ordered herself to calm down.

That didn't pan out too well; her heart almost leapt from her chest as she turned back to the tent. The man from the basketball stall had appeared out of nowhere, and that's when she remembered exactly what had set her on edge in the first place.

Still in his ridiculous attire, he stood smiling at her, looking like the most innocuous person she could ever meet. "What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice betraying her and falling away at the end.

"Some of us swap roles every hour. Keeps things interesting."

"Have you ever considered working somewhere away from the customers?" Buffy asked sincerely. "Perhaps in accounting?"

The man continued to smile, but he didn't respond, and Buffy watched him carefully as if waiting for him to make his move. This stand-off continued until the unharmonic clanging of a bell signalled it was time for the next entrants.

"There are three things you ought to remember," he said conspiratorially, leaning in between Buffy and Faith. "Number one: it's up to the two of you to find the way out, and I won't be going in to point you in the right direction."

Buffy swallowed a comment about how she'd feel better knowing he'd be keeping his distance.

"Number two: try not to get separated. That never ends well."

"Who doesn't know that?" Faith chimed in. "It's the first rule of every horror flick ever."

He turned his focus to her, but all he said was, "Good luck," before stepping to the side and holding out his arms to usher them in.

"What's the third?" Buffy asked plainly.

"Hmm?"

"You said there were three things. That was two. What's the third?"

"Ahh, yes. Sorry, I almost forgot the most important one. Number three: there are no prizes to be found here. What you might find, however, is that this time it really is life or death."

Buffy swallowed hard. It was just some stupid horror walk, and she knew exactly what to expect from it – including the scary pre-entry spiel – yet part of her wanted to turn around and do something else. Anything else. That would be it though – she'd never hear the end of it from Faith. So she sucked it up, gave the creepy man the most care-free smile she could pull together, and stepped past him to enter first, taking a cautious glance back to make sure Faith was following.

Just in case.


	2. Second Date: Part 2

A pale, thin trail of green light clung to the top of the walls, barely illuminating the route through the Cavern of Horrors. Having spent the best part of her teenage night life in cemeteries instead of socialising in – at least moderately – lit buildings, it hadn't taken Buffy's eyes long to adjust enough to make out the dark Faith-shaped blob by her side.

Other than being dingier than Xander's basement, the advertised horrors had been in short supply. Recordings of creepy laughter and screaming were the staple, though a spinning mummy face had sought to shake things up a little. There'd even been an unimaginative attempt at dressing as a zombie by someone rattling chains from the other side of a row of metal bars. All in all, it felt like the owners had ran through a check-list of must-haves for any horror-themed attraction and left it at that. Which was perfectly fine with Buffy – her life was already an entire carnival's worth of horrors; she really didn't need to go looking for more in her free time.

Having realised that they weren't in any real danger, she had already started to lighten up. Or so she'd thought. The moment a clown raced forward, reaching out to grab them with its giant, white gloves, she reacted instinctively. Her roundhouse kick separated its body into two large pieces and emphatically silenced its manic laughter.

Faith struggled to hold back her laughter. "Gee, B, you never mentioned you weren't a fan of clowns."

"Oops." Buffy flushed, and that was followed by a pang of guilt for the unintentional vandalism. "Well maybe I can fix it." Its red, beady eyes were still lit up, and she used the twin beacons to make her way over to the torso and head to try and repair some of the damage – or at least cover it up enough that nobody would notice. The jagged plastic ends that used to connect its legs made it obvious that nothing short of an entire tub of super glue would do it much good. "Or not," she admitted. "So how about we throw it in one of the many dark corners and never speak of this again? To anyone!"

There was no answer, and she turned around with the victimised toy still in her arms. "Faith?" Unable to see even a faint outline of the other girl, she took a careful step forward. "Faith, are you still there?"

Again there was no response. She unceremoniously dropped the clown to her side before moving forward with more urgency. "Faith, come on. Stop messing around." There was no confidence in her voice. Something was definitely wrong. "Oh this so deserves an 'I told you so'," she muttered, but her attempt at light-heartedness couldn't keep her panic levels from creeping up. She reached out hopefully, feeling the walls where Faith had been standing for some sort of hidden door or switch. "Faith!" she called out louder. Her hands moved over the wall, one high, the other low, and each time they failed to find something other than the cold, uneven surface that lined the inside of the tent her stomach tightened that little bit more. She stamped her foot, but the ground underneath responded with a solid sounding thud.

Magic, she suddenly thought. They'd already seen it earlier. But that meant Faith could be anywhere. Damn it, she mentally scolded herself. She should have realised something was up. Funnelling her thoughts into a solution, she reached into her handbag and blindly fished around until she caught hold of her phone. The screen lit up when she pushed a button at random and the feeble glow provided all she needed to dial Willow's number.

She held the phone to her ear. After several long seconds of silence it responded with a single drawn out tone, and she noticed for the first time that there were no bars on display.

It wasn't too far to the nearest town - hopefully not even an hour's drive. And she might even manage to get a signal somewhere closer than that, she decided. But with no idea how much time she had – or Faith had – she still needed to move quick, and she bee-lined for the door to the next room without wasting another second. She pulled it open and immediately shot back as a large, shadowy demon burst forward.

"Psyche!" Faith yelled. Then, as if it was an afterthought, she added, "Damn, I wish I could see your face right about now."

"Wha... huh... but..." Buffy's heart was pounding and she was equally speechless and thoughtless. After her shock finally subsided, she realised exactly what had just happened and her eyes hardened. "Oh that's it," she warned, her voice lowering toward a growl. "You are all kinds of dead!"

"Gotta catch me first," Faith challenged before turning and bounding back into the blackness.

Once again Buffy hesitated as she tried to keep up with what was going on, but then she was following as fast as she safely could, her arms stretched out to her sides to guide herself along. "Immature much?" she called after Faith, but there was no response. She didn't need to worry about losing track of her again though; the continuous laughter made it easy to follow.

And that's exactly what Buffy did, paying no more attention to the sights and sounds popping up around her. Clowns, leprechauns, the Hellmouth incarnate – it didn't matter, she decided. The only important thing right then was that Faith suffered. A lot.

When she pushed through the final door that took her out beneath the slowly darkening sky, Faith was still laughing, bent over and grinning away like she was the funniest person to ever live. Buffy paused at the exit long enough to lower her handbag to the floor before continuing and ploughing straight into Faith. Faith's small yelp of surprise suggested she hadn't expected it, and Buffy's encircling arms easily dragged her down onto the grass.

"Down, B," Faith said, struggling to get the words out through her laughter as she tried unsuccessfully to push herself free from underneath Buffy. "The doc said you're supposed to rest."

"Well the doc doesn't know I have Slayer healing." Buffy knocked away Faith's attempt to push her off. "And apparently neither do you, or you wouldn't have just made the biggest mistake of your life."

Faith successfully shoved Buffy back on her next attempt before rolling on to her front and making a break for freedom. She was almost entirely back to her feet when Buffy smiled evilly and pounced forward. She swiped Faith's arms out to her sides, knocking her completely off balance and sending her stomach flush against the grass. Before Faith could react, Buffy dropped down, placing her knee against Faith's back and pinning her to the ground. "Now," she said, slowly and sweetly, "why don't we start with an apology."

"No need to apologise, B. I forgive you," Faith said, doing an awful job of trying to sound sincere over her continued laughter.

"Funny girl." As Faith flailed blindly behind her, Buffy had an easy task of hooking both arms, and with a firm grasp on Faith's wrists she effortlessly locked them in place behind her back. "Let's try that again."

"OK, OK." Faith was breathing hard. So was Buffy. "I'm listening. You can apologise now."

Buffy glared down at the back of Faith's head as she considered the next step. Always up for a challenge, it didn't take her long to come up with a strategy, "Ooh, hey, I know! Seeing as you're just laying around down there, why don't we play a game of twenty questions? Hmm... How about we start with... are you ticklish?"

"Nope," Faith replied, far too quickly to be convincing.

Buffy smirked as she manoeuvred her grip to keep both of Faith's arms in place with one hand. She used her free one to roll up Faith's top, leaving her lower back and sides at Buffy's mercy. "Anyone ever tell you you're a bad liar?"

"Nop-ahh! Don't!" Faith started squirming the moment Buffy's fingers began to tease her side, and she was impressively quick to change her tune. "Stop it. Stop. I'm sorry."

Buffy kept it up for a few more seconds, happy to let Faith languish beneath her. "That was a pretty impressive u-turn for someone who's not ticklish," Buffy said, grinning. She tilted her head to her side, catching Faith's eyes. "Next question: how sorry?"

"If we're talking one-to-ten here, how's a seven?"

Buffy's response to that was to scuttle her fingers back and forth across the small of Faith's back.

"Ahh, OK, stop!" Faith begged as she wriggled with a renewed vigour. She tried to crawl forward, but Buffy's weight kept her pinned in place. "Ten!" Once more Buffy didn't stop immediately, and Faith called out again. "Ten! Ten, OK?"

"Hmm..." Buffy said, holding off as she pretended to consider it, letting her fingers linger over Faith's skin to keep her on edge. She figured Faith could throw her off if she turned violent enough, but she also knew that wasn't about to happen. And given the stunt Faith had just pulled, she certainly wasn't above making her beg a little more either. "Nope. Not good enough."

Faith's shoulders tensed back and her hips bucked from side to side as Buffy re-launched her relentless assault.

"An I'll-make-it-up-to-you level of sorry?" Faith pleaded, her words rushing out and her voice pitching higher than Buffy could ever remember hearing it before. "God, please!"

Finally satisfied, and slightly concerned that Faith might have a stroke if she struggled much more, Buffy stopped her finger-fuelled attack. "See, you do learn fast. And there was you thinking school wasn't your thing."

With Buffy's assault over, Faith was able to relax. She whimpered once as her body went slack against the ground. Her heavy breathing was given away as her back rose and fell, and her head dropped to rest lifelessly on its side. Out the corners of her eyes, she looked up. "You're a bully. You know that, right?" She was grinning just as much as Buffy.

"Yep," Buffy agreed, beaming victoriously. Faith's eyes were watering a little, and without giving it any thought, Buffy leant down and gave her a short kiss on the cheek. "But now you know better than to mess with me."

Faith stuck her tongue out, but before she was made to pay for it a clearing of a throat saved her exposed skin. Buffy looked back over her shoulder and couldn't think fast enough to stifle a groan.

Her least favourite carnival employee was peering down at her and this time there wasn't even a hint of a smile on his face. "I don't mean to interrupt. I was just wondering if you'd like to pay for the damage you caused in there... or do I need to inform security?" And then came the smile.

In comparison, Buffy's dropped away, and her shoulders slouched inward. Goodbye savings, she thought bitterly. Beneath her, Faith buried her face in the grass as she let out another bout of laughter.

* * *

Buffy tore off a large chunk of pink candy floss between her forefinger and thumb before holding out the stick for Faith. "Thanks again for this." She sucked a small piece into her mouth and murmured her approval.

The sun had almost vanished, only its tip left peeking out far off in the distance, outlining the row of trees at the edge of the nearby forest with a gentle, orange glow. The carnival was beginning to empty around them, with sleepy-eyed children being lead through the exit by equally exhausted parents. Shutters on stalls were closing one by one and vendors patrolled the exits, making good use of their final opportunity to offload brochures and other souvenirs to customers left without the energy to refuse.

"Always welcome, B." Faith plucked off a piece of her own, eyeing it curiously as she turned it over in her hand. "Stuff's really kind of addictive."

"You've never had candy floss before?" Buffy asked, genuinely surprised.

Faith shrugged. "Never really been somewhere like this."

"They didn't have anything like it in Boston?" Buffy wasn't sure what Boston really looked like, though she had always pictured it as similar to Los Angeles, only with shorter buildings and strange accents.

"Sure." Faith's gaze dipped to the floor and she idly kicked at one of the small pebbles along their path. It skipped along before coming to a stop when it bounced onto the grass. "Doesn't mean I got asked to go though," she added, and Buffy could hear her reluctance to talk about it.

"Oh," Buffy said quietly, but she quickly brightened again and wrapped her free arm around Faith's. "Well that just means we'll have to come again next year. And, oh, hey, maybe that evil guy will have been fired. That'd be great," she said, her voice bubbling with enthusiasm, and Faith's smile returned just as fast as it had left.

"He wasn't that bad."

"Eighty dollars? For a toy clown? That right there is downright demonic."

"OK, so maybe he was a bit of an ass," Faith relented. "Still can't believe you thought this was like the carnival of the damned or something though."

"Oh, sure, because that would never happen. Where have you even been for the last year? Besides, don't you know that a good Slayer is a cautious Slayer?"

"Yeah? Says who?"

Buffy tilted her head in thought. "...I think it might have been Wesley," she admitted before frowning at herself. "Maybe we should just forget I said that."

"Done."

By the time they arrived back at the car, Buffy was down to her last shred of candy floss. After first offering it out to Faith, who refused it with a shake of her head, she made slow work of finishing it off, savouring every last sugary strand before licking the stick for good measure and tossing it a good twenty feet into the nearest trash can.

"Pity we couldn't do that when it counted," Faith commented. "Could've gotten you a new friend for the ride home." She turned and perched against the bonnet of the car before looking at Buffy. "So are we ready to hit the road?"

"Umm, yeah," Buffy said before smiling nervously and quietly clearing her throat. "Faith?"

"B?"

"I know that it... that I wasn't perfect tonight, but I had a good time. Like, a really, really good time." Buffy stepped closer and took a loose hold of Faith's hands before meeting her eyes. "So I just wanted to say thank you. For all of it. And I hope you had a good time too."

"Just about perfect."

They stood in silence for several moments before Faith slowly leaned in. Buffy had plenty of time to escape, but she didn't care who might have been watching. Instead she closed her eyes and waited for Faith's lips to meet her own. She breathed in as they touched, inhaling the faint, woody scent of Faith's perfume. The subtle taste of sugar lingered on Faith's lips and Buffy lightly sucked at them, more than fine with the added bonus. Her fingers took hold of the opening of Faith's jacket, keeping the girl close until she decided she was finished.

Their eyes found each other again as they parted. "Now it's perfect," Faith said, bringing a shy smile to Buffy's face. She hovered for a few more moments before letting her hand trail around Buffy's side and across her back as she moved by her toward the driving seat door. Looking back, she added, "I just hope your mom doesn't find out I don't have a license. I'm not sure which of us she'd kill the most."

"You don't need to worry about her; she'll never find out. Besides, she didn't ask, so technically it's not like we lied. Which means you should be more focused on how you're going to make it up to me for being so mean."

Faith grinned. "Me? You're not the one who got attacked by a rabid blonde chick."

"Because you deserved it!" Buffy countered.

"As if you wouldn't have done the exact same thing if you were me."

"Huh? In what twisted dimension is that even a valid argument?"

Faith held up the car keys and waggled them between her finger and thumb. "Because I'm the one getting us back, so what I say goes."

"I'll drive then." Buffy held out her hand expectantly.

Faith snorted. "Not a chance." She quickly slipped down into the driver's seat and locked the door, grinning at Buffy through the window.

Harrumphing, Buffy trailed around the car, pointing an accusatory finger at Faith as she walked by the hood. As she dropped into the passenger seat, her eyes lit up with mischief. "Fine. Then I guess we're listening to the Backstreet Boys all the way home."

Faith groaned as Buffy reached into the glove box and started pawing through the stack of case-less CDs stored inside. A few moments later the sound of 'Everybody' was filling up the car. Proud of herself, Buffy leant back against the headrest and started softly humming along to the song.

Faith was left shaking her head in disbelief – or perhaps even despair. "I am way too cool for you."

"Nuh-uh."

"Yuh-huh."

* * *

Quentin Travers knocked briefly on a firm oak door. He hoped it was the right one. The building was huge, even compared to the home of the council, and the place had left him uneasy from the moment he had stepped inside through the large, glass double doors at the front entrance. He was well aware of the reputation the company had made for themselves, both on and off the record, and he got the distinct feeling that literally anything could be waiting behind every one of the dozens of doors on each floor. For a brief moment he questioned whether he making a mistake. Maybe he should just let it go, he thought to himself; after all, the two million pounds he'd pilfered from the council could make quite the retirement package.

Those feelings slipped away when a voice he recognised from his previous visit beckoned him in. He turned the handle, stepped inside, and eagerly but softly shut the door behind him. It was a small room, much of the space taken up by a long eight-seater table. All were empty, save for the one at the far end where the lawyer he had spoken to several weeks ago was sat. The young man motioned for him to take a seat with a smile and a gesture of his hand.

Complying, Quentin pulled out one of the chairs along the nearest edge of the table and sat down. His eyes followed a woman he didn't recognise as she quickly crossed the room, peered out the office window, and pulled a rope to close the slatted blinds. That did nothing to ease his nerves and he looked at Lindsey questioningly, wondering if he could speak safely.

"I already did a sweep. The room is clear," Lindsey informed him matter-of-factly.

Quentin found his eyes once again drawn to the woman who had now perched herself in the corner of the room behind Lindsey. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Friend is a bit of a stretch," the woman said.

Lindsey smiled as if he'd expected such a comment. "This is Lilah. Don't worry, she's... let's just say we all have something to gain from this arrangement."

"Like an early grave," Lilah remarked.

"She's also something of an acquired taste," Lindsey added. Lilah simply crossed her arms and looked down disapprovingly.

Quentin gave a single nod. "I trust by now you've had enough time to consider my offer?"

"First, to reiterate," Lindsey said, "the specifics of our deal can not leave this room. You can't tell anyone for any reason. If the senior partners were to find out our plans for Angel then we'd all be screwed. As far as Wolfram and Hart are concerned, the only thing you're providing is the fee to make a routine lawsuit go away."

"I understand," Quentin assured him. It had been words to the same effect that had left him questioning his decision for the past few days. But Faith had made a mockery of the council. Of him. She had spat in the face of everything they stood for and there was only one recourse for that.

"And I don't care how many Slayers Angel takes down," Lindsey said, his voice raising. He leant over the table, the back of his prosthetic hand slipping into view. "You'll keep sending them until one of them gets the job done."

Quentin tried not to stare at the unnaturally smooth fake limb. He hadn't dared ask what had happened to the original. "I assure you, Mr. McDonald, that if anyone can take care of your vampire problem then it will be one of my Slayers. It is precisely what they are trained to do from day one."

Lindsey nodded and settled back into his chair. He took a deep breath and straightened his tie before lifting a briefcase from the floor, fiddling with the dual combination lock for a short time, and retrieving a short stack of papers from within. "Your old position at the council will be open by the time you return to England. As for this… Faith... You can rest assured that you'll have a new Slayer in your hands before you know it." He got to his feet, walked around the table, and placed the documents in front of Quentin. He wet his thumb on his tongue and quickly peeled back the pages until he reached the last one. "Sign here and we'll get the ball rolling," he said, pointing to the square, black outline at the bottom of the page.

Quentin reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a chrome fountain pen, but Lindsey held up his real hand to stop him. "I'm afraid we do things a little differently here." He pulled out his own pen and twisted the top off to reveal a long, needle-like point hidden behind the ordinary ball pen structure. "Company policy – a thumbprint will do fine," he added, smiling as he held it out.

Feeling nervous all over again, Quentin glanced at Lilah. Her neutral expression offered no reassurances. He furrowed his brow and hesitated once before accepting the pen-come-needle and then again before pricking the base of his thumb. A small bubble of blood gurgled free and he pressed his thumb down on the page, leaving behind a single red smear.

A chill ran down his spine and he couldn't be sure if the lights had flickered for the briefest of moments. It was done though and Lilah had already crossed the room unnoticed. She reached across the table and grabbed the papers. "I'll get these to admin. I take it you have the money with you?"

Quentin nodded. His throat was dry. He briefly considered asking for some water before deciding he'd rather just leave. He picked up his own briefcase from the floor and handed it over. "Two point five million in notes. Dollars," he confirmed.

"I hope you got the exchange rates right," she said, already on her way out the room. "You should have seen what happened to the last guy who underpaid. Ten measly bucks out and..." She paused in the doorway and looked back, smiling for the first time. "Well, you get the idea." And with that she was gone.

"We'll be in touch," Lindsey added.

Quentin was sweating, armpits and forehead both. He loosened his tie, got to his feet, and almost completely overlooked Lindsey's held out hand in his haste. A quick shake and then he was on his way out. He hoped that he'd never have to return to Wolfram and Hart almost as much as he hoped that Faith would finally get what was coming to her.

And he had a feeling she would.


	3. Three's A Crowd: Part 1

**June 19th 1998**

It had been a long week, so much so that a single beer had left Faith feeling tipsy as she walked home. School always sapped her energy, but this was something more – she didn't know how many more haunting nightmares she could live through. They had her completely on edge. All day she'd been stuck with a nagging feeling that she was being followed, and at every corner she'd look back to see if she was still alone.

Images from her dreams found their way into her head and she heard rustling behind her. They were coming! She spun around, eyes darting in every direction, but there was nothing there. She held her breath, listening for any sound but hearing none.

"Get a grip," she muttered. Resisting one final glance over her shoulder, she continued on her way. Before she'd reached the next turning, someone called out from behind.

"Faith?" It wasn't a voice she recognised. "Faith Lehane?"

She stopped and approaching form was that of a woman she'd never met. A lot older than Faith – maybe in her forties – but more importantly, definitely human. Which shouldn't have been a surprise to anybody, she thought, trying to shake her mind clear. "Who are you?"

"Oh good, so it is you. That could have been dreadfully embarrassing." A small smile played over the woman's lips.

She sounded posh and was definitely not a local. Faith couldn't place the accent though. She raised both eyebrows, not sure what was going on. "Do I know you?"

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? My name is Diana Dormer. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Diana held out her hand, but Faith was in no hurry to take it. "Look, lady, I don't have any money if that's what you're after." In all fairness the woman didn't look like she needed it, her smart, grey cardigan and long, black skirt making her look more like a school headmistress than anything else. But they were in the poor part of town and if people were after something at that time of night then it was usually money, sex, or drugs. Sometimes all of the above.

Diana looked taken aback before her smile resurfaced. "I can assure you, that is certainly not why I am here. However I do wonder if I might take up a few moments of your time?"

The woman stared at Faith as if she should do or say something and it was beginning to creep her out. "Well?" Faith finally asked. It wasn't like murderous pensioners were a news staple, she thought, but she'd bet anything that it had happened somewhere before; even little old ladies have their reasons to rage.

She glanced around. They were the only two there, several blocks away from the nearest public place – which at almost 11pm was likely the bar she'd been at earlier. It didn't help that she'd been stopped under a bridge, meaning two thick, stone walls helped block the view of any potential stabbings. Faith figured she could outrun her if she needed to. Despite that, she took a subtle step back, trying to make it look like she was only shifting her weight; it couldn't hurt to have a bigger head start.

Diana cleared her throat and hesitated before speaking. "I am currently here in Boston as a professor at the University, but the real reason I'm away from home is far more critical. I work for an organisation in Great Britain, for a group called the Watcher's Council. Our purpose is simple: we find and train girls scattered throughout the world, a select few who are special, those from whom one will be called upon to protect humanity. She becomes the Slayer, the one girl in all the world with the strength and skill to fend off the vampires and demons that walk the Earth."

Faith's eyes widened farther with each word and by the time Diana had finished she couldn't contain herself any longer. She took one more look at the deadly serious expression on Diana's face and let out an uncouth burst of laughter. Mark one up for the drugs, she thought. She didn't like to think of herself as a sceptic – she knew how screwed up the world could be. Hell, if somebody had told her that the strange, quiet man living five doors down from her survived on a strict diet of missing children, she'd probably have ate it up. Ghosts and ghouls were where she drew the line.

"Right," Faith said, not bothering to conceal her wide smirk. Diana's brow furrowed in disapproval. "No offence or anything, but I think maybe you should lay off the dope, lady."

"You have to believe me."

Faith didn't have to do anything of the sort and had already turned and started a swift walk away, listening carefully in case the woman pursued her. If she'd have heard so much as a single footstep, she'd have bolted all the way home.

"Faith!" Diana's voice ricocheted off the walls and ceiling, and then the echoes died away, leaving a few beats of silence. "How do you explain the dreams?"

It was a vague question, all things considered, yet still enough to stop Faith dead. They'd been on her mind for the last fortnight, but she hadn't said a word about them to anyone. She turned back and took a couple of cautious steps Diana's way. "What dreams?"

"The ones with the vampires," Diana said in a hushed whisper, like there was some kind of conspiracy that only the two of them could ever know about.

Faith's back tensed, that final word unleashing a fervent shiver down her spine. Vampires. Is that what they were? The things that hunted her in her dreams. They didn't look like the creatures in any of those black and white movies. At least not exactly. They seemed so much scarier, so much more real. Then again, now that the seed was planted, they didn't seem worlds apart either.

"I've got no idea what you're talking about," she bluffed, watching carefully for a reaction. For a sign that would give away the stranger's game.

Diana stepped forward. "I think you do. I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. I understand that this can be hard to take in, believe me. But if you let me, Faith, I can show you the part of the world that few ever come to know about."

She really was serious, Faith realised. Scarily so. Which meant she was either well and truly out of her mind or she was telling the truth. And maybe it was the combination of alcohol and tiredness, but Faith couldn't decide which. "OK, so let's pretend for a minute that you're not yanking my chain. That still leaves the question, why me?"

That seemed to make Diana's smile grow. Her eyes flashed with excitement.

"Because you have the potential."

* * *

**Present Day**

A loud ringing jolted Faith from her deep sleep. She rolled lazily onto her front, grumbled a disapproval too incoherent for even her to understand, and buried her face deep into her pillow. The phone persevered and after about a dozen rings Faith gave in and blindly fumbled for the receiver. She found it on the second attempt, knocking the cradle to the floor in the process. "What?" she growled as she lazily held the receiver somewhere close to her face, her voice almost entirely muffled by the pillow.

"Faith?"

That one word was all it took to brighten her mood. "Buffy!" She quickly rolled on to her side and more carefully cradled the speaker to her ear. "Uhh, hey."

"Is everything OK over there?" There was a hint of concern in Buffy's voice.

"Yeah, sure, I'm great." Noticing the daylight that flooded the room, Faith glanced at the clock by her bed. It was already ten. "Just got out the shower after a run," she lied. In truth she'd gotten to sleep a lot later than usual, too roused up after the night's patrol to drift off immediately.

"Oh. Are you dressed yet?"

Faith smiled knowingly to herself. "Depends. Would you prefer I wasn't?" She dropped onto her back and tucked one hand behind her head as she waited. The line went completely silent and Faith could picture Buffy squirming on the other end. She kept quiet, ensuring Buffy had to be the first to speak up.

It took a while, as Faith expected it would, and all Buffy mustered was a quiet, "Umm..."

Faith snorted her laughter down the phone. Sometimes she wondered if her remarks were a little harsh given how Buffy seemed to shy away from them so much, but such thoughts were always fleeting. More awake, she sat up and looked across the room at the mirror. Not liking what she saw, she wrinkled her nose before half-heartedly rummaging her fingers through her hair. It didn't achieve much but her interest didn't last. "So what's up, B?" she asked after another long silence, finally offering Buffy a reprieve.

"Duty calls," Buffy said, still sounding quiet.

"Game on. Stake or axe?" An early morning work out was exactly what she needed. While she appreciated the pay from her new job at the Magic Box, she didn't much care for being cooped up and bored – you'd think something somewhere in Sunnydale could at least be evil enough to burst through a window every once in a while.

"Neither yet. We're Giles-bound. I didn't get much out of him but it sounds like something's up."

"Happy Hellmouth Tuesday," Faith said, only a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. It was suddenly looking like it could be a long day – not that it was all bad. "Meet you at the box in thirty?"

"Actually I'm almost at yours. I figured you could keep me company on the way there."

"Isn't that like a total detour?"

"Not really," Buffy said, though Faith knew full well that wasn't true. "Maybe a little."

Grinning, Faith threw back her duvet and spun around to perch off the side of the bed. "Guess I'll see you soon then."

"I'll be there in five."

Not even waiting for Buffy to hang up, Faith tossed the receiver onto the bed, jumped to her feet, reached for her bathing towel, and darted for the bathroom. Five minutes to shower, dry and dress – tricky, but if she could help halt an apocalypse then she could give it her best shot, she decided, and to prove it she hopped to her side to squeeze past Joyce on the landing without missing a beat.

"You seem in an awful hurry this morning," Joyce called after her.

"Got plans," Faith said, already trying to shut the bathroom door, strip off her nightwear, and turn on the shower at the same time.

* * *

"What I'm wondering is: at what point did the overlords of hell go, 'oh, hey, I know what would really freak people out: miniature tentacle monsters'?" Faith asked, referring to the troupe of demons her and Buffy had encountered the previous night. They had essentially looked like squids lost on land, only with about three times more tentacles and a boatload more slime.

"I felt kinda sorry for the little guys... or girls... or whatever they were," Buffy said. "As if being two feet tall wouldn't be bad enough, the things didn't even have proper arms. How do they moisturise?"

"They could damn well jump though. And in case you've forgotten, one of them did try to strangle me," Faith pointed out.

"Maybe it was just trying to give you a hug."

"A neck hug?" Faith didn't sound convinced.

Buffy pushed her way through the door to the Magic Box with Faith following behind. "Hey, not everyone has the same customs. Maybe you should be more open to new ideas," she teased.

"Yeah? I'll be sure to point that out next time some demon tries to chow down on your brain."

Buffy spotted the teenage girl sat at the table a few feet in front of them, and she was looking straight at them from underneath a furrowed brow. "Right, all those... metaphorical demons... gunning for my metaphorical brain. Hate that."

She glanced nervously at Giles, who was already en route to meet them. He offered a disapproving look in greeting. "And this would be a perfect example of why we don't discuss such matters on the shop floor during opening hours. In this-"

"Don't we kinda always do that?" Faith cut in, getting a smile from Buffy but the opposite from Giles.

"In this case, however," Giles continued, raising his voice, "nobody is likely to be scarred for life." He motioned to the girl sat to his left. "It would appear our visitor has set a new record for active Slayers."

"Wait, what?" Buffy asked, her smile instantly slipping away. "How? I mean... how? I didn't die. Did you die?" She looked at Faith.

Faith shrugged. "I dunno, B, you weren't looking too peachy a few weeks back."

Buffy didn't need to be reminded of that. Almost dying was something one tended to remember, especially when it leant heavily on the agonising side of things, but in the current circumstances it was the 'almost' part she was more hung up on. "Peachless, sure. But dead? No way."

"You were completely out of it," Faith argued. "How would you know?"

That gave Buffy pause for a few moments, but she wasn't about to budge. "I don't know," she said sulkily. "I just would."

"Giles junior here says differently." Faith threw out her thumb at the new arrival. That earned her another unsavoury look from Giles, but she shrugged it off. "I meant that in a... tweed way... but a good tweed way. Like how Wonder Woman rocks the tights, you know? ...Only more manly in your case."

Giles crossed his arms, continuing to look unimpressed.

Taking the silence as an opportunity, the newcomer stood up and stuck out her hand. She was about Buffy's height and didn't seem any younger. Her short, chestnut-coloured hair was twisted back into a tight bun, leaving her face naked but for the light splash of freckles beneath each brown eye. Below the neck there wasn't a hint of colour, her grey, tweed jacket and pants looking equal parts smart and sombre, and a pair of black low-heel boots completed – as Faith had put it – the Giles junior look.

Only Giles didn't look so stuffy, Buffy decided, after looking the girl up and down for all of about two seconds.

"Moira Corbett," the girl said, her hand still outstretched, and Faith finally reached out to shake it. "It's an honour to meet you, Faith."

"It is?" Faith asked, raising an eyebrow. Her hand stayed in Moira's grasp, likely as a by-product of the shock so blatantly displayed on her face.

"It is?" Buffy was quick to echo the sentiment, managing to sound even more surprised than Faith. "Really?"

"Of course," Moira said as she withdrew her hand. "You caused quite a stir back home at the council." She leant forward and lowered her voice. "Don't let them know I said so, but I quite admire a girl with spunk."

Buffy had to raise the back of her hand to her mouth to cover her sudden influx of coughing. Once she'd managed to stop, she noticed everyone's eyes were on her. "Sorry. Dust," she offered in apology before clearing her throat and then quickly biting her bottom lip in a failed attempt to try and keep a straight face.

"I'd love to hear more of your side of the story," Moira continued. "Is it true you took out an entire unit of the council's special operations team? Single-handedly?"

The untamed excitement in Moira's voice left Buffy wanting to roll her eyes. So she did. It's not liked it mattered: Moira's attention was on one person and one person only – and she may as well have been drooling.

"Well actually-" Faith said, her stance slackening as if she was digging herself in for the long haul.

"Before we get stuck in to that barrel of fun," Buffy interrupted, "can I just ask if there's any particular reason you're here? Now don't take this the wrong way, but I got the impression that I wouldn't be hearing from the council again and, well, really wasn't complaining."

Moira looked Buffy's way – which was a miracle in itself, Buffy thought – but Giles was one step ahead of her. "I realise that this almost goes without saying, but it appears we have trouble heading our way. So far the details are a little sketchy, but the council have come across some information that suggests Sunnydale will be the grounds for some sort of demonic raising."

"Ooh, wait, I know this one: and it's happening tonight!" Buffy snarked.

"Friday, actually," Giles said, furrowing his brow as he watched Buffy carefully. "Uh, Moira, why don't you grab your suitcase from the back? I'm sure Buffy and Faith wouldn't mind watching the shop whilst I show you to your hotel."

No sooner had Moira disappeared from sight, Buffy scuttled closer to Giles, dragging Faith along with her. "I don't like this," she said in a hushed voice.

"I wouldn't worry," Faith said, not lowering her own voice. "Just one more big evil wanting to sun it up in Sunny D. We'll handle it."

"What?" Buffy asked in disbelief. "No, not that. Her!" Buffy thrust a finger toward the door leading to the back.

"Careful, B, you're starting to sound a little jealous," Faith teased.

"Of her? Oh please. Because she's completely your type..." Buffy caught Giles's eye. "...Of person... you like to hang out with... like... friends... do." She cleared her throat and shifted on to her other foot. "So how about that Moira, huh?"

"Now Buffy-" Giles began, already sounding exasperated as if she didn't have every right to worry.

"Look, we haven't heard so much as a peep from the council for over half a year," Buffy jumped in, "and let's not forget our not-so-fond farewell. Now this girl just shows up out of nowhere, despite the fact that the Slayer mortality rate has been pleasantly low. I can't be the only one who finds that even a little bit suspicious? And do I really have to remind you both about Gwendolyn Post?" She looked back and forth between Faith and Giles, nodding slightly in the hopes of encouraging them toward her way of thinking.

Something she said did the trick because one arm of Giles's glasses found its way into his mouth while he mulled it over. "Yes, well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to make a few calls. Assuming anyone at the council is willing to hear from me then I may be able to verify her identity, one way or the other."

"Thank you."

"Until then, perhaps we should stay on guard but give her the benefit of the doubt, yes?" His pointed look made it more of a firm request than a question.

"Fine," Buffy muttered before stabbing an accusatory finger his way. "But if she stakes us all in the back then you're both going to have to start trusting my heebies."

"Duly noted," Giles remarked dryly. He returned to the shop counter and began fishing around out of sight before pulling out a bunch of keys.

Moira returned with a small travel case in hand, which Buffy hoped was a sign of a short visit. "Oh, Faith, one more thing," Moira said. "If you wouldn't mind, perhaps you could show me the local cemetery tonight? I'd love to see you in action."

Buffy couldn't easily shake her head without being obvious about it, but the horror directed at Faith by her hard, widened eyes and visible, grit teeth should have said it all.

Faith caught Buffy's look but quickly switched her focus. "Uhh, yeah, I guess."

Moira was beaming as she followed Giles outside, and as soon as she'd gone Buffy crossed her arms and shook her head in disapproval. "I'm thinking demon. Or maybe a ghoul. No, definitely a ghoul! The kind that literally sucks your soul away in a really drawn out and painful way. And then replaces it with tweed."

"Mmm..." Faith murmured quietly, still facing the exit. "Maybe I'll take her for a spin around the town, too. Show her the sights. Just the two of us."

"What?" Buffy's head snapped toward Faith, only to find a large, amused grin plastered over the girl's face. She simply shook her head as she swatted at Faith's arm.

"Or I could take her back to my place..."

"Ooh, and then I could kill you both," Buffy offered sweetly.

Faith turned her body toward Buffy. "I'm just messing, B, but maybe you should lighten up a little – give the girl a break. I seem to remember you not being too hot on me at first either."

"That's not true," Buffy immediately objected, but she conceded to Faith's raised eyebrow. "OK, OK, I'm sorry. I can play nice, and we can do the patrol thing together. The three of us."

"That's my girl. And if you behave, maybe in future you can play with the other kids without supervision."

Faith moved quicker that time, jumping back in time to avoid another swipe from Buffy.

* * *

Patrolling: the staple of a Slayer's routine. Sometimes Buffy looked forward to it. Sometimes she even needed it. Throwing a vampire or two around was a fantastic method of de-stressing. Maybe once she retired she'd even write a book on it. Tonight it wasn't going to do her any good though; that much she knew. Every vampire in Sunnydale would hear them coming with the rapid-fire questions Moira was shooting out.

"So, Moira, where are you from?" Buffy asked, managing to squeeze in one of her own when the girl finally paused for breath. Her interest was borderline non-existent, but anything to stop Moira from gushing over Faith seemed like an idea worth pursuing.

"Perth."

"Australia?" Buffy asked sceptically. "You don't sound all that Australian. I mean no offence or anything. I'm sure you're real Australian in other ways. I bet you can, like, ride a kangaroo one-handed and everything." What had started off sounding like a sincere attempt at conversation had quickly degenerated into something else, and Buffy didn't miss Faith's quiet sigh.

Moira shot Buffy an annoyed look. "Scotland."

"Scotland who?"

"The place. I'm from Perth in Scotland."

"Oh. Right..." They walked along in silence for a few steps. The air had definitely picked up a chill, Buffy thought, but it didn't deter her and she idly tapped her stake against the palm of her hand. "Where's that again?"

Moira stopped and turned, looking agitated. "Maybe this would be faster if we split up."

"Yeah, I don't think so, but thanks for the suggestion."

"Moira's right," Faith said.

Buffy's eyebrows rocketed. She stopped abruptly, bringing the whole group to a halt.

Faith looked far less certain than she'd sounded only a moment earlier. "We got a late start," she said carefully as she dug her hands deep into her back pockets. "It might make sense to split up if we wanna get home before sunrise."

There was already an argument on the tip of Buffy's tongue, and they wouldn't even have been running late if Miss tweed-and-tardy hadn't shown up almost an hour after they'd agreed. Instead she settled for glaring at Moira for a short moment before her eyes flicked to Faith's. Her expression didn't shift one bit. "Fine." She turned and started to march away. "I'll take the East side."

"Buffy," Faith called after her. "Meet back here in twenty?"

"Whatever."

* * *

Faith regretted her earlier teasing of Buffy in a huge way, even though she wasn't entirely sure what was happening. The fiery glows that had replaced Buffy's eyes had made it obvious that she had definitely screwed up though. She silently dreaded meeting up later on, yet the waiting part felt even worse. Her head wasn't in the game anymore; it was lost somewhere on the other side of the planet, fretting feverishly in a dark corner. Things had been going really well between them lately and she wasn't going to start feeling any less antsy until she'd done the rounds and got it sorted out.

The continuing sweep of the cemetery had remained a silent and uncomfortable one for some time before Moira gathered the courage to speak up. "I'm sorry if I upset your friend. I didn't mean to snap."

Faith looked to her side and hesitated before responding. "Forget it. Pretty sure I'm the one in the dog house, not you."

"Oh. Well I'm sorry for that too." Moira paused before softly adding, "I don't think she likes me very much."

"B's just..." Faith wasn't really sure what to say, and while she didn't want to incur any more of Buffy's wrath than she'd already built up, she couldn't help but sympathise with the new girl. She wasn't entirely sure what to think of her yet, but she'd spent her entire life in Boston and still left the place without needing to say a single goodbye. Loneliness wasn't a new concept for her and nor was it one she cared so share. "Give her some time. You'll be fine."

Moira's small, hopeful smile didn't last long, retreating fast as a pair of vampires rounded the corner ahead of them. Faith instantly withdrew her stake. After a short hesitation and a quick glance Faith's way, Moira followed suit. Faith looked to her side, sensing more danger, and she spied a third vampire edging through the shadows at the side of a crypt.

"Over there," Moira said, and Faith followed her look. One more was busy digging itself out of its grave.

"You done this before?" Faith asked, turning her back to Moira as the vampires began circling.

"I've taken part in several training exercises with vampires," she said, sounding proud of herself, but then her voice shrank as she admitted, "Not so much out on the field though."

Faith glanced over her shoulder and watched as the newly risen vampire stalked toward them. "You a fast learner?"

"Umm, my watcher once told me-" Moira didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before the vampire leapt forward.

Faith was quicker though, shoving Moira to the side before her high side-kick introduced the creature's face to the base of her boot, sending it straight back through the air. "Just stay close," she ordered, before turning right into a fist from one of the others.

She only needed a single step to regain her balance before gritting her teeth, bending her knees, and pushing forward. Her shoulder drove hard into its chest and took them both to the floor.

* * *

"Oh Faith, your muscles are so big and strong. We don't have those back in Scotland. Would you mind if I perhaps touched them for a moment," Buffy said, poorly mimicking Moira's strong accent before she switched to an equally bad attempt at Faith's. "Five by five. Let me just take off my sorry excuse for a top for you. Oh, hey, why don't I just take off the rest of my clothes too. That's how we do things in Boston, you know?"

As she strolled past a bouquet of fresh flowers, she couldn't resist drilling them straight into a neighbouring grave with a solid boot. The petals exploded into the air on impact, floating down about the surrounding area and leaving the stems alone in their newly tattered wrapping.

It didn't make her feel any better. In fact, her fingers were clenched a little bit tighter. She loosely closed her eyes and took in a large noseful of air. Slowly blowing it back out, she silently began counting to ten. By the time she'd even hit six, her eyes flicked open to find a vampire right in front of her. She'd heard it coming just fine but hadn't wanted to risk scaring it off.

"Thank you," she said to the skies, bringing a look of confusion to the vampire's face. It was one quickly replaced with terror as Buffy grabbed it roughly by the scruff of the neck and hoisted it into the air with ease.

It was driven down into the ground just as forcefully, but she didn't stop there. The toe of her boot lifted it back up again and it sailed across the cemetery before colliding with the side of a headstone. Buffy marched forward as it struggled to its feet, and she easily blocked its desperate punch before one of her own spun it around. She kicked straight at the small of its back, sending it lurching forward, and it knocked straight into the same grave, somersaulting over it to land on its back.

Buffy leapt over the headstone, grabbed the vampire by its neck, dragged it to its feet, and thrust her stake all the way through its heart. A hoarse sound from the back of its throat was all it managed before its remains were left scattered across the floor.

She let out a loud sigh and looked around her bare surroundings. Why did it have to be so quiet tonight, she wondered; she could have done with more of a challenge.

Moira definitely fit firmly under the category of mildly-to-moderately annoying, but it was Faith who had left Buffy in a sour mood. She didn't think Faith would actually go for Moira, but she wasn't elated about how quickly Faith had taken the girl's side either. She was supposed to be her girlfriend, not Moira's; she could at least act like it.

And what if Moira wasn't who she claimed to be? They should have been watching each other's backs, but instead Faith was gallivanting around a cemetery with some total stranger without a care in the world. It'll serve her right if she gets a crossbow bolt through her back, she thought bitterly.

Her cheeks warmed with guilt, and that feeling was followed by a rush of concern. She stopped on the spot and looked behind her. If she was wrong, going back would make her look jealous with a side of crazy; if she was right, not going back could mean Faith ending up hurt. Or worse.

It was an easy decision. "Please be a demon," she muttered before taking off toward the other side of the cemetery.


	4. Three's A Crowd: Part 2

Faith struggled to squirm out from beneath the largest of the vampires. Her back was pressed flat against the ground, her arms pinned out wide by her wrists, and its leverage kept her from pushing free. She wasn't sure how she'd ended up in such a lousy position, but that alone was evidence of her scattered focus.

As the vampire leaned down, her head shot up to meet it half way, and the harsh smack of bone against bone sounded out into the night. It wasn't the most fun she'd ever had, but it did plenty to startle her unsuspecting foe. It pressed a palm to its forehead, and her freed hand thumped against the side of its screwed up face to send it rolling onto its back.

The ringing in her ears stayed put, but a murmured, "Ow," as she blinked away stars was all the time she could afford. Reacting fast, she caught the foot of another vampire looking to put a sizeable dent in her ribcage. Both hands worked to hold it in place only an inch above her prone body, and she groaned as she pushed up hard. It toppled over, arms swinging wildly as its balance crumbled away, and having finally earned half a second of respite, she flipped to her feet.

The numbers game wasn't making things easy, and trying to keep one eye on Moira wasn't helping with her already split concentration either. She had to hand it to her though – Moira seemed to be holding her own despite the characteristically ungentle Sunnydale welcoming committee.

No sooner had that thought crossed Faith's mind, Moira slipped up in a big way. Whether through overconfidence from her strong start or simply newbie naivety, she stepped forward far too eagerly as she looked to follow up on a successful strike. Left with only inches between them, the vampire instinctively leapt at the opening, sinking its teeth straight through the exposed skin of her neck.

"No!" Faith shouted.

Moira's mouth gaped open and shock seemed to consume her entirely; she stood stiffly in place, her wide eyes staring helplessly at Faith as the vampire continued to drink from her neck. Faith charged straight for her, easily tossing aside another vampire as it tried to cut off her approach.

She grabbed a large handful of the short hair that belonged to Moira's attacker and used it to wrench the vampire's neck all the way back before shoving it away to the ground. Free of its fangs, Moira crumpled to her knees and cradled the wound on her neck with both hands as she drew in short, sharp breaths. Her arms were shaking, but with no time to check up on her, Faith had to hope she'd last through the next five minutes.

Faith returned her attention to the four regrouping vampires. Her worries over Buffy gave way to her anger, and she stalked forward, refocused and eager for a fight.

* * *

Once Buffy rejoined the others, the first thing she noticed was Moira down on her knees, not doing much of anything. That was followed by the sight of Faith batting away attacks from a number of circling vampires. One squeezed through her defences, its outstretched leg connecting with her gut, and Buffy shot forward.

She grabbed the first one she reached from behind with both hands and tossed it behind her. Leaving it to recover, she moved straight for the next as she withdrew her stake. The length slid into the vampire's back, and it straightened harshly, its shoulders arching back before it burst into a pile of dust.

Turning in time to catch the initial one looking for revenge, she swatted its arm away before shoving it back with her palm. Using the additional space, she jumped and kicked straight out, knocking it back farther. It must have finally dawned on it that another Slayer in the mix was severely bad for its health, but as it tried to flee, Buffy's stake flew through the air and perfectly into its target. The vampire fell forward with a pained grunt, exploding as it hit the floor.

Buffy turned back to Faith, but with the odds more or less evened she had worked just as fast to get rid of the other two. Faith gave her a quick nod – in greeting? Thanks? Buffy wasn't really sure – before returning to Moira's side, and Buffy trailed after her.

"You OK?" Faith asked, extending a hand that wasn't taken.

"Y-y-yeah," Moira said. Her eyes darted around nervously as if there might have been a couple dozen more monsters lurking around, ready to finish her off – which was never entirely out of the question on the Hellmouth, Buffy thought. "I mean... I think so... Am I?"

"Let me see." Moira didn't move and Faith had to force her uncooperative arms away from her neck.

Buffy couldn't help but grimace. There was a lot of blood spread across the left side of Moira's neck, though given that she was still conscious Buffy figured it looked worse than it actually was. She kept her distance, watching as Moira was helped to her feet and held steady by her shoulders. Once Moira's legs had stopped shaking enough that she seemed less likely to fall straight back down if left unattended, Faith withdrew her hands.

So much for the whole splitting up plan, Buffy thought as she silently watched the two of them, but she kept it to herself; she wasn't that heinous, even if she had been right.

* * *

Moira had avoided being turned into a vampire, but after watching how slowly and rigidly she now moved, Faith suspected she might have somehow ended up a zombie instead. Even at their sluggish pace, the trio eventually arrived back at the road, and the awkward silence that accompanied them still hovered around as an unwanted fourth party.

Faith needed to say something to break the ice. She couldn't really get into it with Moira still by her side, but when Buffy offered an unaffectionate, "You should get her home," before heading away without so much as a goodnight, Faith figured that was her only chance.

"Two minutes, OK?" she said.

Moira nodded and Faith hurried after Buffy.

"Hey, wait up," she called out, but Buffy kept moving. Faith didn't need to read between any lines to know she was still in Buffy's bad books. "Look, I'm sorry. But I thought you two were about to come to blows and she doesn't exactly know her way around yet," she tried to explain.

"It's fine," Buffy replied plainly.

Faith knew better. She had a lifetime's practice in the art of deflection and Buffy wasn't exactly being subtle. "Come on, B. Don't be mad."

Buffy stopped and crossed her arms, keeping her back to Faith. "I'm not."

Faith stood watching her in silence before stepping up close behind her. She hooked her chin over Buffy's shoulder and her hands loosely wrapped around the girl's waist. Buffy tensed up immediately. "Good impersonation then," Faith said, holding her ground.

Buffy didn't reply; she only stared down at the sidewalk in front of her.

Faith started to nibble at the top of her earlobe, hoping the playfulness would get her to ease up a little, but Buffy quickly turned her head away. "That's not going to work," she warned.

"OK," Faith agreed, "but you know I'm a one Slayer gal, right?" She homed in on Buffy's exposed neck instead, but barely managed to get in a single peck before Buffy tried to peel away her arms. She held them in place and let the side of her head come to rest against Buffy's. "I really am sorry, Buffy. I didn't mean to upset you."

Nothing happened for an excruciatingly long, uncomfortably silent minute, but then a slim, hopeful smile made its way onto Faith's face when she felt Buffy's body slacken in her grasp.

"Do you even know why you have?" Buffy asked quietly.

Faith hesitated for a moment before taking a cautious guess. "Because I agreed with her?" Her nerves were fluttering wildly and she desperately wanted to avoid saying the wrong thing and angering Buffy even more. It was strange really, how a gang of four bloodthirsty killers barely gave her pause for thought and yet a single, small – very particular – blonde girl could leave her feeling anxious enough that she was glad her bladder was empty.

Buffy sighed and pulled away more forcefully before turning around to face her. "It's obvious she's into you. I mean surely no-one can be that blind."

The irony wasn't lost on Faith; she'd had to practically suck Buffy's face off before she had registered that Faith was interested in her. Buffy didn't look in the mood for games though and Faith doubted pointing that out would do her any favours. "I told you: I'm not interested in her. I swear."

"I know that," Buffy stressed, exasperated. "But you could..." She paused, sighed, and shook her head. "You know what, forget it, OK? I'm tired and I just want to go home."

When Buffy turned without waiting for a response and started swiftly walking away, it became pretty obvious that she wasn't looking for company. Faith could only watch until she was left alone. She pressed her palms against her temple and closed her eyes. Shortly after, she let out a frustrated growl before returning to Moira.

"You OK?" Faith asked, struggling to keep her voice level.

Moira, who still had one palm firmly glued to her neck, gave a small, unconvincing nod. "I think so."

"Good. Let's get you home and cleaned up then." Faith was in no mood to play babysitter, but she'd meant what she said – Moira really didn't know her way around, and Faith wasn't about to let her take a wrong turn into the worse part of town, especially when her neck was likely giving off 'come eat me' pheromones to every vampire inside of three blocks.

"Um, is everything OK? I mean between you and Buffy?"

"Who cares," Faith grumbled, before stalking ahead to deter any further questioning.

* * *

Sometimes when you wake up you instinctively know that the day is destined for disaster, and that when you look back at it in the future you'll ask yourself why you didn't stay right there in bed. That's exactly how Buffy had felt that morning, and that's exactly what she'd done for much of it. Once her anger had dissipated she had been left dealing with guilt over how she'd left things with Faith the previous night. It had kept her in a constant state of unease, and while a part of her still secretly hoped that Moira was at least a little bit evil, she was having trouble convincing even herself of that.

As lunchtime had gradually crept closer, the onus of the latest potential apocalypse-in-the-making had finally proved enough to force her to the Magic Box. After all, letting the world end because she was having relationship trouble probably wasn't going to land her a coveted spot in TIME Magazine's 'Top Ten Slayers of the 21st Century'.

"So did you get anywhere with the council?" she asked Giles, wasting no time on pleasantries after she'd manoeuvred him to the back room.

"I talked to Michaels, an, um, an old associate from the council. I wouldn't say he was overly pleased to hear from me, but he cooperated..." Giles let out a long-suffering sigh. "Eventually. It seems Moira is who she claims to be and, unfortunately, also that the threat to Sunnydale is very much real."

Buffy let that digest. She still wasn't ecstatic with the extra company, but she was begrudgingly about ready to admit that she may have overreacted. Slightly. She ran her palms down over her face before pacing to the side. "At least tell me she isn't a girl scout."

"Actually, I hear she spends most of her time volunteering to help the sick and elderly."

Buffy looked back over her shoulder in disbelief and quickly caught sight of Giles's muted grin. "Ha ha," she said plainly.

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

Buffy glared. "And suddenly I can't wait for our next training session." After a short hesitation, Giles's smile slipped, and as it did Buffy's grew, though only momentarily. "But first it looks like I have some apologising to do."

Giles nodded softly. He held the door open for her before following back through to the shop floor where Faith and Moira were already hitting the books along with Willow, Xander and Oz.

"Moira," Buffy offered in greeting.

"Oh. Erm, good morning Buffy."

Moira's gaze dipped and her hands retreated into her lap, which only helped to rub in Buffy's guilt that little bit more. She jumped straight to the point. "Look, I know I was kind of… an ass yesterday. I guess I was having a bad day or something, so just... please don't take it personally, OK?"

Moira's eyes remained on her book as she fiddled with the corner of the page. "OK… thanks."

With the easy part over, and after a forced parting smile that wasn't even seen, Buffy trailed her way over to Faith. She was sat alone in the corner, far enough away from the others that they had a bit of privacy if they spoke quietly. Buffy hovered for a bit before grabbing her attention. "Hey."

Faith looked up, and after seeing Buffy she leaned back in her chair, leaving a single finger on the page of her book to keep her place. "Hey."

"Can we talk?"

Faith shrugged. "Kinda already are."

"Right." Faith's cold, matter-of-fact tone left a lump in Buffy's throat, and if she'd been expecting some sort of touching reconciliation – which she honestly hadn't – then any hope of that would have crumbled into a gigantic heap of disappointment there and then. "I'm sorry I flipped out last night," she said finally.

Faith watched her for a few moments, her expression blank. "That's it?"

Buffy wasn't sure what else she was expected to say. "Yeah… I mean I guess so."

There was another long pause and then Faith slammed her book shut, sprang from her chair and stormed out without another word. The sudden and indiscreet exit left a lot of questioning eyes on Buffy, who managed to wear a tight-lipped smile while she hastily followed in pursuit, careful to keep her eyes on the door. See, really should have stayed in bed, she thought bitterly.

Outside, she found Faith leaning into the wall of the Magic Box, her dipped head staring down at the sidewalk. She knew full well that Faith could get pretty heated, but it was a side of her she hadn't come across in a while. What she hadn't realised was how much she'd upset her the previous night. "Faith, I said I'm sorry," she said softly. "And I mean it. I blew the whole thing way out of proportion."

"I..." Faith pushed off of the wall with a loud, frustrated sigh, taking a couple of steps toward the road before turning back toward Buffy. "I just don't get you sometimes. I mean… I try and be responsible and do the right thing, try to make myself into someone you can respect, and all you do is throw it back in my face. It... it feels like I can't win."

Buffy watched Faith carefully, trying to size up what was on her mind. "You don't have to change for me. You know that."

"It's not just for you. I love you, B, I swear, but you can't be everything. You have college, and your friends, and an awesome mom. And I'm..." Faith paced across in front of Buffy, ending up just as far away at the other side. "The training with Giles, the job here... I'm trying to build something with my life. I know it's not much yet, but I want some kind of future where I'm more than a bunch of screw-ups."

Buffy watched her through gloomy eyes. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt that way. You don't exactly tell me these things." She let out a short laugh, driven by nerves more than anything else. "You don't really tell me much of anything about you."

Faith slowly shook her head. "Why would I? You think I want you to be more ashamed of me? I want you to see who I can be."

"What?" Buffy had almost overlooked it, and for a moment she wasn't even convinced she had heard Faith right. "Why would I be ashamed of you?" Her question came out with a hint of complaint. She knew they'd gotten off to a rocky start – to put it mildly – but that was a long time ago and she'd been nothing but supportive of Faith once she'd realised how bad things had gotten.

Faith tried to shrug it off. "I just meant there's more to me is all."

"No, that's not what you said," Buffy stressed slowly as she took a step closer to Faith. "In what way am I ashamed of you?" Her tone demanded an answer.

Faith's eyes flicked up to meet Buffy's, and they were filled with resolve. "Who knows about us?"

"Willow does." Buffy's reply slipped off her tongue so fast that she made herself cringe.

"And you told her?"

Buffy had latched on now, and she took longer to think that time, wondering how big of a lie she could get away with. Faith was studying her closely and in the end Buffy erred on the side of honesty, coming out with a weak and hopeful, "Kind of… I didn't deny it." She winced again as she heard her own words.

Faith simply shrugged again and brushed past her, heading back inside, but Buffy caught hold of her wrist, spinning her around. "Fine. You want to tell people? Come on then. We'll tell them all. Right now."

Faith forcefully pulled her arm free. "You really don't get it, do you?" There was a subtle smirk on her face, dark and challenging. "No surprise there."

Becoming increasingly riled up by Faith's accusations, Buffy crossed her arms tight and set her jaw. "Then why don't you explain it to me real slow."

They stared at each other in silence. Only half a year ago and things would have been guaranteed to get physical. Buffy still wasn't about to rule that out entirely; maybe some things really never could change.

"I don't want you to tell them," Faith said calmly. "I want you to want to tell them. I get that you're not ready for that, and I can wait, but I won't just sit and do nothing." Faith reached out and delicately brushed a cluster of stray strands of hair from Buffy's face.

Or maybe things had changed more than she realised, Buffy thought.

Faith's fingertips lightly brushed across her cheek before she withdrew her hand, and Buffy knew that if Faith could feel the sudden pitter-patter of her heart from such a small, simple action then she would have no reason to doubt how much Buffy cared for her.

"You're an amazing woman, Buffy. That's why you'll never understand what it's like always falling short. I'm not exactly used to being handed anything, and I'm not asking for much... and hell, I know I'll screw up some more along the way... but if you can go easy on me while I find my way there, I'll show you I can be someone you want to shout about."

Buffy wondered how was she supposed to respond to that when her throat had completely closed up. The wind from her sails had been whisked away and there were already tears welling at her eyes. She tried to blink them back and that held them at bay long enough for Faith to turn and head back inside.

Once alone, Buffy's body sagged, and she put a hand out against the wall to steady herself. With the back of her other hand, she wiped away the tears.

* * *

The rest of that day proved uneventful. Really uneventful. The entire gang had continued their search for some clue as to what could be visiting come Friday. So far they'd ruled out plenty, including the return of the Sumerian demon Asag, who would apparently bring with it sickness, boiled fish, and an army of rock-formed offspring. Personally, Buffy found that a little hard to believe, even by her own extremely open-minded standards, but Giles assured her that it was scheduled for an early 2004 arrival. What they didn't have yet was anything ruled in. At all. As far as prophecies went, it was starting to seem like it could be the most mundane day in the entirety of Sunnydale's history.

Nonetheless, Buffy had tried to take notes on anything that sounded even remotely promising, but the life expectancy of her pencils had sent them to the top of the endangered species list. Doodling, on the other hand, was proving far more therapeutic, and she hoped the small array of decapitated stick-vampires was more endearing than telling. Given that they were scattered near the spine of one of Giles's texts, she doubted he'd see it that way, and as she spotted him walking over she hurried to the next page.

She looked up, smiling at him innocently. He eyed her suspiciously and she widened her smile in response. "What have you done?" he asked wearily.

"Nothing." Sometimes it was a pain how easily he could see through her.

Giles looked to her pencil-wielding hand then down to her table, first at the pile of broken pencils and then at her book. "And where are your notes?"

"Oh, well the thing is... I made some... b-but then I didn't think they were very good so I thought I'd start over. With new notes. A-and a new pencil. And-"

Giles reached for the book but Buffy quickly swept it up into her arms.

"Give it here," he ordered with a sigh, holding his hand out expectantly.

"Well... why don't you get your own, huh?"

"That is mine. In case we've forgotten, they're all mine, and that one in particular is part of an extremely limited, seventeenth century, first edition set."

"Then I guess people probably wouldn't be interested in buying it or anything these days. I mean if you think about it, it's basically already worthless, right?" she said, guarding the book close to her chest.

"Just... hand it... over..." he said through gritted teeth as he tried to wrestle the book from her grip. Once he had – a feat managed only because Buffy hadn't wanted to rip it – his eyes widened in horror after he'd carefully flipped to the previous page.

"At least it wasn't in pen?" she offered brightly, her optimism earning her a pointed glare and a low, hoarse sound from the back of his throat.

He plucked the pencil from her hand before she could complain and she pouted in retaliation. If he wanted his books safe then he should have known better than to keep her cooped up all day – and she'd thought waving goodbye to Sunnydale High would have been the last she'd see of detention.

Giles returned to his own workspace, nurturing the book in his arms, and while Buffy wasn't entirely sure, it looked like he was whispering it gentle reassurances. She frowned briefly before dejectedly looking around the room.

It was late, and Xander was conked out, his head resting open-mouthed against an outstretched arm, his eyes closed tight. Willow and Oz were working from the same book. Oz nodded in agreement as Willow pointed at something, and then suddenly she was furiously back-peddling through its pages. Moira was keeping to herself, studiously making her way through whatever text sat in front of her. Finally, Buffy looked directly across her table. Faith was watching her, a small smile on her face, and Buffy brightened and smiled back.

Faith made a face as if to say, 'eek,' and Buffy rolled her eyes before nodding in Giles's direction. Grinning, Faith gave an understanding nod. They hadn't spoke since being outside earlier, but the exchange gave Buffy a small burst of courage and she silently got to her feet and made her way around to the other side of the table. After slumping into the spare seat with a low moan of complaint, to demonstrate how both bored and tired she felt, she let her hand rest on Faith's thigh and gave it a small squeeze. "Hey. How are you doing?"

"OK." Faith motioned at the table with the chewed and splintered end of her pencil. "Haven't vandalised any books yet so I guess that's something."

"Probably for the best," Buffy agreed. Then in a faux whisper she added, "It's a closely guarded secret, but Giles gets a little testy if anyone hurts his babies."

"Yeah? Well I'd get a little testy too if someone hurt my baby." Faith put her hand over the back of Buffy's, stroking it affectionately with her thumb, and Buffy moved her leg to the side, letting it lightly rub against Faith's. She lay her head down on its side against the table, smiling as she looked back up into Faith's eyes.

"Oh? And how testy are we talking here?"

"You ever hear of this big, green guy called The Hulk?"

Buffy gave a small, short laugh and then watched Faith silently for several moments before asking, "Can we never fight again?"

"You know we're both way too pig-headed for that."

"Maybe," Buffy agreed. "But I'll try if you will."

Faith slowly nodded her head and squeezed Buffy's hand in her own. "Deal."


	5. Mallevolant: Part 1

**2nd October 1998**

Faith was sat on a bar stool in the Junction, one of her favourite late-night haunts in South Boston. It had never been anything special really – a run of the mill bar that happened to be near enough to her home that she'd never had to scrounge up the money for a cab. As for the drinks, a steady supply of college boys ready and willing to try their luck had ensured that she'd never needed to worry about that.

Somebody that had started out as one such boy was singing to a small crowd, surrounded by the other three members of his band up on the stage across the room, and Faith watched him with interest as she sipped at her beer. He'd made it a lot further than most, and she'd been with him – Kenny – for almost two months, which for her pretty much made him Guinness Book of Records material. After a fast growing list of disappointments, it seemed like she'd finally found someone who genuinely cared for something more than her body. Things hadn't started out like that, of course, but he'd put a lot of effort into sticking around even after they'd slept together, and she had slowly started to warm to him.

She hadn't told him what or who she was yet. Diana had gone out of her way to stress the importance of the whole secret identity thing to her – repeatedly – and so far Faith had played ball. Three months had flown by since she'd been officially called – since her strength, senses and reflexes had all been beefed up a whole bunch of notches. Every night since then she had spend part or sometimes all of her night stalking cemeteries, dark alleyways, and any other places where demons might set up shop. She was helping people, saving people – hell, she was a bonafide superhero, minus the cape and tights.

For the first time in her life, she actually mattered. She felt alive. She was doing good and feeling great about it. That knowledge bubbled around inside her, keeping her warm, reassuring her when the other aspects of her life tried to beat her down. And she wanted to share all of that with someone. She wanted to unleash her excitement and blurt out everything. She looked over at the stage again, and that time Kenny caught her eye and smiled. She smiled back.

She'd undoubtedly get an earful from her watcher, but maybe she really could tell him everything. Soon.

* * *

**Present Day**

The sun had set, the stars were sparse, and the residents of Sunnydale had long since departed from the closest thing the town had to a bustling hub. Only a few stragglers remained at the mall, but they had arrived long after the shops had already locked their doors. Security was slack, a side effect of Sunnydale's rarely-discussed felonies not revolving around the theft of a pair of Blahniks or a Rolex. The daytime guards had probably raced the customers home, very few of the shops inside bothered with shutters, and it had taken Willow no more than thirty seconds and a few waves of her hand to get the gang in through the main entrance without setting off any alarms.

Along with Willow and Faith, Buffy made her way along the uppermost floor of the mall as they sought out any sign of demonic, spiritual or even mildly peculiar activity. Only a few hours earlier the plan had been to split up, spread out, and search Sunnydale from tip to toe in the hopes of stumbling across whatever was about to go down, but a last minute phone call from across the pond had funnelled their efforts. The council had dug up enough information to pinpoint the expected location of the rising, but so far it was looking like a bust.

"I really sort of miss this place," Buffy said. "I always thought it was a little on the small side compared to some of the places back in L.A., but it's like they say: sometimes you don't realise a good thing until it's gone."

"Oh right," Willow said, catching on quick. "I forgot you're still banned from here. Also, I don't think people were really talking about shoes when they said that."

"Not just shoes. There's clothes as well. And lip gloss. There are plenty of things here worth missing. Luckily it's only for another two days, and after that the people of Sunnydale had better stand clear because I've got a Spring wardrobe to prepare and an entire month of savings to spend."

From several feet ahead, Faith looked over her shoulder and grinned knowingly. "Give or take eighty bucks."

Buffy's face wrinkled in disappointment. She had given Willow a detailed report about their trip to the carnival, but she had glossed over some of the finer details, including the steep price she'd paid for her temporary wiggins. Faith knew full well though, and she seemed unwilling to forget about the incident any time soon.

Before Faith could elaborate, Buffy retaliated by flicking on her flashlight and directing it at Faith's eyes. The dim, low-energy lights that were dotted sparingly throughout the mall made the additional lighting more of a luxury than a requirement, but the flashlight was still bright enough in comparison to turn Faith away with a small harrumph of complaint.

"Savings from where?" Willow asked. "Last I checked, people don't pay you to study. Or if they do then I think I'm doing it wrong."

"Step one is getting money for food from your mother," Buffy said, her features completely free from guilt. "Step two is turning up to said mother's house while she's out, eating all her food instead, and then blaming the missing items on your girlfriend's insatiable appetite. Give me enough time to perfect it and I'll be set for life... or the next few years at any rate."

"Now why didn't I think of that?" Willow asked. "Oz does have a wolfish appetite." Willow let loose a short giggle at her own pun, and Buffy rolled her eyes even as a small smile turned up one side of her lips. "Maybe not such a good idea to bring it up in front of the accused party though."

Faith shrugged without looking back. "She makes it worth my while."

"Oh you little minx," Willow teased, bumping her shoulder against Buffy's.

"Please don't encourage her," Buffy warned. "She's like a puppy. Let her get away with something once and she thinks she can do it all the time."

"Cute and huggable too," Faith said. "Especially that last part."

Buffy dug her hand into her pocket, feeling for something to throw, but she had to settle for giving the back of Faith's head a faux glare when she came up empty handed.

As the conversation died down, Buffy began idly cutting swathes of light from side to side, illuminating the names of various shops and making a mental plan of the order she'd need to visit them when that glorious Monday finally arrived. And she was fairly certain it would arrive; it was beginning to seem like the council had gotten their wires crossed. She wouldn't have put it past them to purposefully waste her time either. But even if the rising itself turned out to be a non-event, she was still glad for the research-free field trip – Slayers weren't built to be caged up for days on end, and sooner or later her or Faith would have snapped something bigger and more valuable than a pencil.

In the end it was Faith who aired what Buffy had been thinking. "Now I'm not saying I've been to a whole lot of raisings… risings… whatever. Point is, aren't they usually more... I don't know, communal or something?"

"It does seem awfully quiet," Buffy agreed. "Which in my experience can be either a very good thing or a very bad one."

"Maybe we're too late," Willow said, her eyes widening, "and some gigantic, horrid beast is out there right now, reigning destruction down on the hapless, unprepared citizens, pillaging their homes and murdering their fir-" She caught sight of Buffy's questioning look and quickly stopped herself. "O-or we could be early. I like that one better."

As she stared at Willow incredulously, Buffy gave a single, drawn out nod of her head. "Or maybe-"

The small, black box clipped onto the side of her pants crackled to life and the muffled sound of Xander's voice followed shortly after. "This is Nightwing. We've infiltrated the security room. I repeat: we have infiltrated the security room. We've got eyes everywhere. Over."

Buffy held the radio up to her mouth, hesitating for a moment before she held down the button on the side. "Err... OK." She looked to Willow in confusion and mouthed, "What?"

Willow simply shook her head.

"Over," Xander said a few seconds later.

"Over where?" Buffy took a quick look around for any sign of trouble.

"No. You have to say over. Once you've finished talking. Come on, Buff, we went through this on the way here. Over."

"Gee, sorry Florence."

It was Xander's turn to sound confused. "Who the heck is Florence?"

"You know, as in Nightingale."

"Nightwing!" The radio hissed wildly in response to Xander's raised voice, and Buffy held it a little farther back as she rubbed at her ear.

"That's what I said."

Xander's long-suffering sigh was the next thing to crackle out from the device. "You're terrible at this. Put Faith back on."

Buffy rolled her eyes but held out the receiver, and Faith didn't need any further persuasion before she doubled back to grab it.

"Shadowcat here," Faith said in a hushed voice. "I'm gonna scout ahead. Watch my six. Over."

"10-4, Shadowcat. Over."

Buffy also watched Faith's six – or at least that general sort of area – and her flashlight lingered on Faith's leather-clad form as she quickly crept forward. "You remember when Faith first turned up and she was all cool and sexy and stuff? When did that all go?" Faith dropped into a low crouch alongside the pillar at one corner of the mall, stretching out her tight trousers and lifting up her top in the process, and Buffy tilted her head to the side. "Or the cool part at least," she murmured to herself.

Willow's wide grin caught Buffy's eyes. "You get used to it," Willow reassured her. "Throughout the whole of fifth grade, Xander begged me to refer to him as Lion-O."

Buffy furrowed her brow and managed to drag her attention away from Faith momentarily. "That's something you can get used to?"

"Well it's really more like you just tune it out. Before you know it you'll be smiling and nodding without hearing a word. And if not then I found this really cool hex that makes everything someone says come out in Swahili."

After a cautionary glance, Faith disappeared from view, overdramatically dashing around the corner and behind the short wall that separated the uppermost floor from the straight drop down.

"Where were you when I was growing up?" Buffy asked. "Family life would have been so much more relaxing if I couldn't actually understand what my parents were fighting about."

"Uhh, guys, you got any cameras pointing out the back?" Buffy didn't have eyes on Faith, but the seriousness in Faith's voice grabbed her full attention.

"Do we ever!" Xander said enthusiastically. "Just give me two sec... Oh. Well that can't be good."

After sharing a worried look with Willow, Buffy jogged forward, and she was staring down out the window with widened eyes when Faith next spoke. By that point Buffy really didn't need an accompanying sound clip, but Faith gave one anyway.

"Don't suppose you packed that rocket launcher again?"

* * *

"We've got more out the front," Xander warned the others over the radio. He pointed at a couple of monitors on the console along one side of the small security room located on the ground floor of the mall. Giles quickly stepped up behind him, peering over his shoulder.

"How many?" Buffy asked.

"In total? We're looking at maybe thirty vamps surrounding the main entrances."

Split into two large groups, one at the front of the mall and one at the back, each vampire stood only a few feet from the next. Their game faces were on and their eyes, visibly inhuman even on the black and white monitors, were trained on the exits.

There was a long paused before Buffy responded. "OK. Is Moira with you guys yet?"

"No sign of her yet."

Buffy sighed. "Someone needs to tell that girl she's not running on Greenwich Mean Time anymore. OK, look, we need to regroup. I don't want you guys down there on your own."

"You and me both," Xander said, already reaching down for the small holdall of supplies – stakes mostly, along with some holy water, a couple of crosses, and a range of herbs and other spell ingredients.

"Meet us at the top of the escalator. I think we're going to want the upper ground."

The lights switched off. The monitors let out a short, soft buzz as their screens instantly turned to black. Even the light from the small LEDs on the console faded away. The room was left pitch black, and Xander froze in place, unsure of what to do next. "Uhh, what just happened?" he asked.

"We've lost power up here too," Buffy said. "Do you guys have a flashlight?"

"Hang on, there's one here somewhere. I put it down just... well it was right over... " He put his hands out in front of him and shuffled forward, blindly trying to feel his way toward the table he knew was definitely somewhere in the room. It was quiet apart from the sound of his shoes scraping over the hard, laminate floor, at least until a loud thud to his side closely preceded a yelp of pain.

"Blast it!" Giles complained. "There goes my knee."

"Got it," Oz said. He held out the flashlight and flicked the switch.

As the beam of light shot across the room, Xander saw the unexpected figure appear in front of him, its face mere inches away, and he jumped back with a loud squeal.

Giles did exactly the same.  
"What's going on?" Buffy asked.

"We're good," Oz offered when nobody else spoke up, and he looked back and forth between the other two. "Xander and Giles were just excited to see each other again."

Giles held his hand to his mouth as he cleared his throat, still looking sheepish. "Right. Well then, let's, err, meet up with the others, shall we?"

* * *

Looking out the window, Buffy stood with her flashlight off, not wanting to draw the attention of the group below. There was enough light from the almost full moon to see the vampires that encircled the back door to the mall. "It doesn't look like they're coming in."

"But that's a good thing, right?" Willow asked, scrunching her face up in preparation for the answer.

Turning away from the window, Buffy rejoined the other two, each of them now holding a light of their own. "If they want us trapped in here, I think it's safe to say that something worse is already on its way."

A sudden gust of strong wind rapped against the windows, immediately drawing everyone's attention. Seconds later they heard a series of loud bangs from somewhere beneath them. A single, loud groan crawled its way up through the spine of the entire building, and then there was perfect silence.

"Or it's already here," Willow said, and she gulped as she met Buffy's knowing look.

"Guess no raising is complete without a good, old-fashioned sacrifice," Faith chimed in as she pulled a crossbow off her back and loaded it with a wooden bolt. She held it up in front of her face, closely inspecting her work.

Buffy sighed dramatically. "Remember when that used to be reserved for virgins?"

She tried handing Willow a stake, but the girl shook her head and dug a hand into her pocket. "I'm OK, I've got this."

"What's it do?" Faith asked, cautiously eyeing the small pouch held out in the centre of Willow's palm. It was pale brown in colour and no larger than a golf ball, with a single white thread holding the twisted ends of the material together at one end. A little more golden in colour and it would have fit right in on a canapé tray.

"It goes boom," Willow said simply. Faith raised both eyebrows and took a hefty step back. "I mean it's nothing big. It won't level a city block or anything, but I figured if we needed to, say, get rid of an ancient summoning statue in a jiffy then this little puppy would do the trick."

"Yeah? Well make sure you keep that thing away from me, OK?" Faith warned. "Call me old fashioned, but I prefer something with a sharp end you can just stick in a guy."

"Amen to that," Buffy said, stepping ahead of the other two. "Come on, let's get to the others. And everyone stick close."

* * *

Buffy took point as the three of them headed for the proposed meeting point, but Faith didn't hesitate to step up by her side when a pair of demons blocked their path.

At full stretch they couldn't have been much smaller than either Slayer, but their four knees doubled their long legs over into a tight, acute angle, keeping their bodies hovering close to the floor and leaving them looking deceptively small.

Buffy's stake was clutched in her hand before she'd even thought about it. "Ill take the one at the front. Faith?"

"I've got the other," Faith confirmed.

"Willow, support only, and don't get too close. We don't know what these things can do."

The first scurried forward with small but lighting-quick footsteps, and it looked like it was about to crash head first into the second. At the last moment it jumped onto its companion's back, and as the four legs of the bottom one straightened in unison, the other was propelled up into the air. Its body rotated as it went up, and it landed on the ceiling feet-first.

"OK, guess we know they can do that," Faith said. She stepped back to keep her eyes on the creature that was stood upside down on the ceiling as if it were the easiest feat imaginable. She raised her voice to add, "Gonna be a real bore if you don't come down and play though."

Its head tilted to its side as if it might be trying to understand her, and then it was off again, moving with the speed and grace it had shown when its feet were still firmly on the actual floor. Faith kept her head tilted back as she turned around, determined not to lose track of it.

The other creature was being far less evasive. It stood in place, watching Buffy with interest through two dark slit eyes. Behind it, its thin, long tail stood two feet high, breezing back and forth, almost hypnotic in its slow, steady movement. Even as Buffy cautiously approached, flashlight clutched in one hand and stake in the other, it simply blinked repeatedly and let the tip of its black tongue slip in and out through its craggy, thin lips.

"Hey there, little thing. I don't suppose you're a friendly hell beast?" she asked as she drew closer. She was almost in reach when it surged forward.

She jumped, narrowly avoiding having her legs knocked out from under her. She landed and spun instantly, just in time to watch its tail wrap around her ankle. For something that looked almost delicately thin it had plenty of pull, and she was easily dragged from her feet. The hard floor was entirely unwelcoming on her back, and the light from her flashlight briefly flickered before giving up altogether after it crunched against the ground.

Her surroundings slipped into the blackness, and only the light coming from Faith a dozen feet away allowed her to see anything at all. What she couldn't see, however, was the thing that had just attacked her. She tapped the flashlight against the palm of her hand, softly at first and then harder when that didn't trigger a response. "Come on, come on, just this once?" she pleaded with it.

She'd barely made it to her feet when a hefty weight ploughed into her chest from out of nowhere, knocking her back and pushing the air up through her windpipe and out of her mouth in a surprised sputter. Just as soon as it had appeared, it had vanished again, back into the darkness.

"Faith, I could use a little light over here," she called out as she cautiously stepped to her side, looking around anxiously but unable to spot the creature. The side of her leg bumped against a solid wall, and she felt out with her hand, gladly confirming that it was only the waist-high safety barrier.

Faith complied, sending her beam of light Buffy's way. The bulk of it was drowned out as it tried to push its way through the darkness, but enough made it to Buffy to outline the silhouette that lunged straight for her.

The split-second warning proved enough, and she caught the creature, lessening the blow. Her neck craned all the way back, keeping her face millimetres away from the creature's long, black tongue as it slithered out in search of a taste. At the same time, she leaned back, using its momentum to turn and discard the creature over the balcony. Four sets of claws tightened around her shoulders and hips, each set digging into her skin and locking the two of them together, and Buffy didn't have enough time to free herself. As it dropped over the ledge, it took her with it, its weight dragging her up over the safety railings and all the way down.

* * *

"Buffy!" It had happened so fast that Faith had only caught the briefest glimpse of the event, even though she was looking straight at them, and it took a few seconds for it all to sink in. Then she was charging for the balcony, fiddling with the flashlight as she tried to free it from where she'd wedged it through the belt loop on her jeans. She shone the light down, but it didn't have the strength to illuminate all the way to the bottom floor. "Buffy!"

There was no response and she swallowed hard before casting a glance back. Willow was preoccupied, spinning around faster and faster as she shone her light in every upward direction without finding a target. Faith desperately wanted to go after Buffy, but she also knew she needed to make sure Willow was safe first unless she wanted Buffy to kill her.

She bee-lined straight for Willow, whose growing concern was evident on her face even behind the shadows that danced about on it. Before Faith had reached her, Willow's hastily swinging light cut across the back end of the other creature, but she didn't seem to spot it.

Faith did. "Move!" she shouted in warning.

Willow didn't. Instead she tilted her head back, following Faith's pointed finger. The creature above her dropped down from the ceiling, its claws primed, but Faith burst forward, crossing the remaining distance in a heartbeat and forcefully knocking her out of harm's way. Willow couldn't adjust herself before she landed awkwardly on her arm, but she rolled to a stop on her back, still in one piece. The creature fell straight onto Faith's back, gave a single, short hiss, and then sunk its teeth into her shoulder.

Faith groaned in pain and automatically rolled her shoulder back and down, trying to pull it free from the beast's teeth. She turned, lining her back up with the nearest pillar, and as the thing helped itself to a second bite of her flesh she slammed herself back as hard and as fast as she could, sandwiching the creature between herself and the solid stone. She took two steps forward and did the same again, letting out a single growl as she pushed off from the floor with as much force as her leg muscles could squeeze together.

It dropped from her back, landing comfortably on its four legs. She turned and reared back her leg, ready to send it reeling with the toe of her boot, but it quickly skittered forward and jumped onto and then off of the balcony railings, landing on another nearby pillar. It kept moving, crawling around the back of the pillar and out of view.

Faith instantly moved for the nearest escalator, but after a few steps she hesitated once more and looked back over her shoulder.

Willow was already up to a sitting position. "I'm OK," she called over as she rubbed at her elbow. "Go after Buffy."

Faith didn't waste time nodding before she hurried down the stationary escalator steps. Nor did she waste time taking them all, instead leaping over the side and landing in a crouch once she'd hit the halfway point. The second set of escalators received the same treatment. Once she was safely on the ground floor she took a quick look around, reorienting herself, before she was on the move again.


End file.
